LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



ffijjafr Caj^ri# 

Shelf j}H£A H S 
^ 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



% 



V) 

Li 
•1 



THE CHURCH 

IN THE 

PRAYER BOOK 



BY 



EDWARD LOWE TEMPLE, M. A 




WITH AN INTRODUCTION 

BY THE REV. SAM U EE HART, D. D, 
Secretary of the House of Bishops. 



" That we show forth Thy praise, not only with our lips, but in 
our lives." — The General Thanksgiving. 



" Beseeching Thee to inspire continually the Universal Church with the 
spirit of truth, unity and concord : and grant that all those who do confess 
Thy holy Name may agree in the truth of Thy holy Word, and live in unity 
and godly Jove."— The Prayer tor Chribt 1 s Church Militant. 



MILWAUKEE: 
The Young Churchman Co. 
1893. 




The Library 
of Congress 

washington 



COPYRIGHT, 1893, 

BY THE YOUNG CHURCHMAN CO. 



PRINTED BY 

King, Fowle & Co., 

MILWAUKEE. 



(Stortant. 



TO 

L. G. T. 

MY DEAR WIFE, 

TO WHOM, 
UNDER GOD, 
'I OWE ALL. 



3 



Preface. 



yJ_HIS book contains the substance of a series of familiar 
Parish lectures, delivered to adults by a layman. If, 
therefore, it shall have practical value, it will be because it is 
the outgrowth of a method which has already thus met with 
favor and acceptance. 

There are many commentaries upon the Prayer Book, from 
primary instruction to exhaustive treatises ; more than enough 
to dissuade from the introduction of another. But it is believed 
that the system of inquiry and explanation here pursued is one 
not precisely employed before. It deals primarily with the 
Prayer Book of the Church, that most venerable, historic and 
priceless volume, known and read of all men. It aims to treat 
this volume in order and detail, overlooking nothing necessary to 
a thorough appreciation of its contents, as regards the analysis, 
history and application of the text. Frequent comparison with 
this text will be found helpful to an intelligent understanding 
of the comment. Kesults alone have been given, and these have 
been thrown into a simple, and, it is hoped, useful running 
commentary on the Offices in their practical application to wor- 
ship and service. To do this, the usual form of question and 
answer has been exchanged for a simple descriptive style, and 
all references to authorities omitted, from a desire to curtail 
in volume. Extended works of ripe scholarship on the one 
hand, or of catechetical instruction on the other, have a value 
not here claimed. 

Prom the consideration of the text there inevitably radiate 
lines of thought which lead the mind to the other distinguish- 
ing features that challenge the attention of thinking people to 
the Church, which is so indissolubly associated with the Book 

5 



6 



PREFACE. 



of Common Prayer. The effort has been to give to the average 
Churchman or religious inquirer a thorough view of the Church, 
based on her chief formulary of worship : a view which shall 
neither shun nor overlook any distinctive point of difference 
from other religious bodies, abate nothing of her own claims, 
yet be as brief and succinct as it is intended it shall be compre- 
hensive. It will be the endeavor to make reference to primitive 
standards of beauty and fitness in worship, practically of uni- 
versal sanction in the American Church, and of large and 
rapidly increasing acceptance where the requisite outward con- 
ditions prevail. 

A glossary of ecclesiastical terms, not otherwise explained, 
will be found in connection with the index. No enumeration 
of authorities consulted is here given, but the author wishes to 
express his deep sense of obligation to many standard sources 
of information not generally consulted, from some of which 
adaptations have been made. To the dear friends who have 
encouraged him in a labor of love, a public meed of gratitude is 
scarcely needed, but is too heartfelt to be withheld. 

It is his hope that this rapid survey may lead others to con- 
sult works of far greater pretensions to scholarship and author- 
ity on the subject here treated. While rather a commentary 
than a manual of devotion, still a knowledge of the principles 
here disclosed may aid in making an intelligent and profitable 
choice and use of the latter. And with it goes the earnest 
prayer that it may be blessed by the Master to the disarming of 
prejudice and the correction of misapprehensions, as well as to 
the strengthening of the truest devotional usage ; and that it 
thus may prove a modest offering to the great and vital cause of 
Christian Unity. E. L. T. 

Windyledge, 
"Rutland, Vermont, 
St. Michael and All Angels, 1893. 



Table of Contents. 



Page, 

Preface, 5 

Introductory Note, .... 9 

I. The Use of Forms, 11 

II. The Growth of the Liturgy, . . IT 

III. The Church's Attitude and Kelations, . 26 

IY. The Church's Nature and Purpose, . 39 



THE DAILY SERVICE: 

V. Before the Daily Service, ... 45 
VI. The Penitential Preface, .... 53 

VII. The Lord's Prayer and Venite, . . 60 

VIII. The Psalter, Calendar and Lectionary, . 69 

IX. The Te Deum and Canticles, ... 80 

X. The Creeds, . . . . . . .87 

XI. The Creeds, 99 

XII. The Prayers and Thanksgivings, and 

Evensong, . .114 

XIII. The Litany, 129 



THE COMMUNION OFFICE: 

XIV. The Christian Year, 139 

XV. The Christian Year, 153 

XVI. The Holy Communion, 166 

XVII. The Holy Communion, .... 178 

XVIII. The Decalogue, Altar Service and Sermon, 190 
XIX. The Offertory and Prayer for the Church, 205 

XX. The Preparation, Preface and Prayer of 

Humble Access, ... . 216 

XXI. The Consecration Prayer and the Admin- 

istration, . . 227 

XXII. The Post-Communion, 238 



8 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



THE OCCASIONAL OFFICES: 

Page. 



XXIII. Holy Baptism, 244 

XXIV. Holy Baptism, 254 

XXY. The Catechism, 262 

XXYI. Confirmation, 269 

XXVII. The Solemnization of Matrimony, . 278 
XXVIII. The Visitation and Communion of the 

Sick, and the Churching Office, . . 287 
XXIX. Prayers at Sea, the Visitation of Pris- 
oners, and Family Prayer, . . 295 
XXX. The Burial of the Dead, . . . .302 



THE ORDINAL: 

XXXI. The Ordination of Deacons and Priests, 312 

XXXII. The Consecration of Bishops, . . . 326 

XXXIII. The Bemaining Offices, .... 335 



XXXIV. Organization— Legislation— Education, 346 
XXXV. Outlook and Opportunity, . . .361 

List of Church Books for consultation, 369 
Glossary of Ecclesiastical Terms, . 371 
Index, . - . . . . . .385 



Introductory Note. 



♦ J^HERE is cause for real regret in the fact that Churchmen 
are, at the present time, required less often than of old to 
defend the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Church. 
These have come to have a recognized place in the thoughts of 
men all about us, and they are often mentioned or noticed with- 
out awakening opposition. And, partly as a result of this, it 
is to be feared that many who are strongly attached to the 
Church's 'belief, her polity, and her liturgy, have never been 
called upon to give reasons for that which they accept and hold, 
and have never put to themselves the questions which would 
bring those reasons clearly before their own minds. But, though 
Churchmen need to be reminded of the duty of being " ready 
always to give an answer," the study of the answer which they 
may give has never lost, and never can lose, either its interest 
or its value ; and the Church is the sufferer for every failure to 
inquire into the principles of her faith and her practice. 

The present volume has grown out of an attempt, and that 
a successful one, to bring before intelligent people the les- 
sons to be found in the Book of Common Prayer. It does not 
aim to contain a full investigation into the " origins " of the 
Prayer Book, or to be an exhaustive commentary on all the 
contents of that wonderful volume. But it is a wise and timely 
attempt to bring before Churchmen the important facts as to 
the meaning and the value of the treasures which have come 
down to us as the heirs of the liturgical riches of the ages. It 
will be of service to those who are familiar with the Prayer 
Book, as it helps them to understand it better; it will serve 
for many more as an introduction to much of devotional usage 
of which they can ill afford to be ignorant ; and it will help all 



10 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



to gain, from the intelligent use of that which is constantly in 
their hands, that growth in the knowledge and the service of 
God which is the mark and the test of true religion; while its 
fair and conciliatory tone will coin for it the favorable atten- 
tion of many who, we fain hope, will find in the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer a practical basis for Christian Unity. 

I shall be glad if my words shall commend this work of an 
earnest, devoted, and scholarly layman, who, as a member of 
the General Convention, has taken part in the recent revision 
of the Prayer Book, to any of those for whose benefit it is pub- 
lished, Within the lines of loyalty to the Church and to her 
standards, which the author is careful not to transgress, there 
is room for a variety of interpretation and practice that no wise 
man would willingly limit. The author will not expect that 
all will agree with him in every such particular; but his pur- 
pose will be accomplished, if he shall succeed in pointing out 
the great truths which are so wonderfully and in such manifold 
ways embodied in the Book of Common Prayer. 

SAMUEL HART. 

Trinity College, 
Hartford, 

September, 1893. 



I. 



THE USE OF FORMS. 



" Hold fast the form of sound words, * * in faith and 
l ove »— 2 Timothy i. 13. 

" That thou may est know how thou oughtest to behave thy- 
self in the house of God.''' 1 — 1 Timothy iii. 15. 

HAT there exists, even among Churchmen, a great 



want of familiarity with the rationale, arrangement and 
significance of the Church's worship, few, on due reflec- 
tion, will deny. And probably this unfamiliarity extends 
as well to her exact status in respect to doctrine and dis- 
cipline, as differentiating her from the religious bodies 
about us. It is no doubt true that outside of the Church, as 
well as among its members, the Prayer Book is read and 
prized by thousands who use it in their private devotions 
as the noblest formulary of Christian worship. Her 
children love it as the vehicle of her common worship, the 
hallowed heirloom of the fathers, endeared by centuries of 
sanctified association, itself in great part composed of the 
words of Holy Scripture, and thus enshrining the very 
Word of truth. But just how that truth is enshrined, how 
part harmonizes with part, in what manner a vast body of 
Catholic doctrine not elsewhere embodied is, so to speak, 
held here in solution, what are the principles of a worship 
which strikes its roots deep in a historic past, how many 
except responsible teachers pause to consider ? 




n 



1% 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



The Church's ritual is beautiful, her liturgy dignified 
and impressive, her ways conservative, and thereby she 
attracts. But these are only the media through which 
the truth is carried home in its integrity to the hearts of 
sinful and erring men. Her liturgy is but the golden 
casket which enshrines the jewel of God's indwelling 
Spirit, present with His Church by virtue of the Incar- 
nation of His Son. How great were the gain if, by some 
expenditure of time and thought, a Churchmanship of 
mere preference should be moulded into one of principle ! 
Surely such privileges as we enjoy carry with them a 
corresponding obligation of intelligent faithfulness in 
giving " a reason of the hope that is in us," and in hand- 
ing on these reasons to men " who shall be able to teach 
others also." 

Time was when the Churchmen in this country were a 
feeble folk, the victims of an ill-founded prejudice against 
forms of worship and old- world antecedents. This is true 
no longer. A great career lies before the Church in 
America. Her growth in influence is unexampled, and a 
Christianity which is an institution as well as a life wins 
a ready hearing. Faith in man-made creeds and appeals 
to precedents of yesterday are on the wane. A restless 
longing for some general return to older and more tried 
methods is apparent to observing eyes and ears. At the 
end of four hundred years of our continental life 3 a great 
softening is evident in the antagonistic elements which 
won their first lodgment on these shores, by Churchmen 
in Virginia, by Puritans in Massachusetts ; and Christian 
Unity is at least " in the air." 

The only tangible proposition before the world in this 



THE USE OF FORMS. 



13 



direction is the Chicago- Lambeth Declaration, commonly 
so-called, set forth in England and America as the Church's 
basis, by her highest authority. The exact scope and 
bearing of this eirenicon are too little understood by those 
not of us. To defend it is the duty of every intelligent 
and well-informed Churchman. And what better prepara- 
tion is there than a thorough knowledge of the Book of 
Common Prayer? The significance of the Church's teach- 
ing should be as familiar to her children as are her words 
to their lips ; and as intelligible to our brethren of other 
names. 

The Church has no greater missionary storehouse nor 
weapon than this Book. It is the vitalized expression of 
all that is precious in our faith and worship. It is a vade 
mecum in the hands of all. At the threshold of the twen- 
tieth century, and of the second of our national existence, 
the American Church, after twelve years of careful debate 
and with complete unanimity, has now accomplished the 
latest revision of this precious formulary, accomplishing 
thereby " liturgical enrichment with flexibility of use": a 
revision not likely again to be soon undertaken. With this 
last revision comes the renewed obligation of intelligent 
and consecrated fidelity to our standards — the standards 
of the past — to be borne prayerfully and lovingly on the 
battlefields of the future, in the conquests of the Prince of 
Peace. 

Many aspects of the Church's teaching become hazy 
and obscured by their very nearness and familiarity, so 
that plain and simple statements will be best. The book 
we are to consider is the Booh of Common Prayer. Its title 
does not necessarily imply that it is the expression of each 



14 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



individual need at all times, though its resources are 
indeed copious and unfailing. It is the daily solace and 
inspiration of thousands of Christian hearts in the closet 
and at the hearth-stone, and thus, in a true sense, it is a 
treasury of devotion. It is set forth by authority as the 
Church's Book of common and public worship. 

It is not an accidental nor an ill-considered formation ; 
no fortuitous arrangement, but a living organism, instinct 
with life and redolent with sanctity. An organism 
implies scientific method ; and the Prayer Book (a point 
very generally overlooked), is constructed on strictly 
scientific principles ; a feature by no means incompatible 
with, but on the contrary essential to, the orderly and 
effective rendition of public worship. Everything which 
comes from God is based on scientific principles and 
governed by scientific laws. From the increase of the 
grain or seed sown to the growth of the most complex 
nervous organism, all true development is orderly, and 
dictated by an intelligent Mind. Such should be the case 
with all that relates to Him, who is the Source of our 
being, and the Centre of our worship ; and above all, with 
the methods and principles which underlie that worship, 
which is the highest expression of our faculties. Here, 
indeed, nothing should be left to chance or ignorance, 
which are fruitful sources of irreverence. 

Obscured in America by generations of popular usage of 
extemporaneous forms of prayer (which are not common 
prayer, and which, because extemporaneous, are none the 
less in danger of becoming empty forms and vain repeti- 
tions), there has existed from the beginning a distinct 
science of Liturgies, thoroughly understood in the Church 



THE USE OF FORMS. 



15 



after centuries of devout study and constant use. This 
holy science finds its best exemplification and fruitage in 
the composition and rendering of the Book of Common 
Prayer, which is a living exposition of " divine courtesy, 
reverent etiquette and worshipful decorum. w No liturgy, 
no form of creed can for a moment compare for effect- 
iveness of logical expression, reverent and dignified treat- 
ment of sacred themes and scholarly insight into the 
deep things of God, with the venerable symbols and formu- 
laries of the Anglican Communion. " Liturgical science, 
like the technique of music, is, if rightly inspired, a mas- 
ter-key to divine harmonies." 

The argument for forms of worship and a prescribed 
liturgy need hardly be pressed in these days, when the 
tendency is all in the direction of a return to a more rev- 
erent and seemly ritual, and when the speech of extem- 
poraneous prayer about us is so often saturated with 
the Church's phraseology. The strength of the argument 
lies in the sober second thought of Christian hearts, and 
above all in the example of Our Lord, who was Himself 
the Author of the kernel of all religious forms, the Lord's 
Prayer. Throughout His earthly life He was a constant 
participant in the daily Temple and Synagogue worship, 
and habitually used the forms handed down by the elder 
Hebrew dispensation, whose teaching is not yet abrogated, 
but spiritualized and expanded ; not destroyed, but ful- 
filled, in Christ and His Church. He submitted in due 
liturgical form to the Jewish rites of Circumcision and of 
Baptism, which last He made a Sacrament, with a pre- 
scribed form. In the Synagogue, He followed the usual 
postures of the Jewish Service, which was markedly lit- 



16 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



urgical; a familiar form of words was on His sacred lips 
even in the Agony of the Garden; He quoted from the 
Psalms of David in the Last Seven Words from the Cross; 
He was the Ordainer, at the Feast of the Passover, in set 
words of solemn and momentous import, of the central 
religious observance of all Christendom, the Sacrament of 
His Body and Blood. 

His Apostles, taught by their Divine Master, were, 
first in the Temple and then in Synagogue or Catacombs 
or Christian Church, the daily observers of hours and 
forms of prayer. Their Bible was at first the Old Testa- 
ment, for the Christian Church existed for thirty years 
before a line of the New Testament was written ; just as 
the Hebrew Church antedated the Elder Scriptures. The 
Law, the Prophets, above all the Psalms (really the Hebrew 
Prayer Book) were the staple of their Daily Prayer, 
while the Liturgy proper, the Service of the Lord's Day, 
was always the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ; coupled 
with usages and forms of sound words growing directly 
out of and built around the original words of His own 
Institution, and supplemented later by Epistle and Gospel, 
when these last came to be written. 



II. 



THE GROWTH OF THE LITURGY. 

" The particular forms of Divine worship, and the Mites 
and Ceremonies appointed to be used therein, being things in 
their own nature indifferent and alterable, * * it is but 
reasonable that upon weighty and important considerations, 
according to the various exigencies of times and occasions, 
such changes and alterations should be made therein, as to 
those who are in place of authority should, from time to 
time, seem either necessary or expedient.''' 1 — The Preface to 
the Prayer Book of the Church of England. 

(a) Ancient. 

TNQUIRY into the significance of the simple facts of 
Historical Christianity from its early days will work won- 
ders in removing misconceptions and establishing a logical 
ground of religious belief. From the days of the Apostles 
themselves there existed forms of Daily Prayer more or 
less variant ; and with these the Divine Liturgy, or Com- 
munion Office for the First Day of the week. In different 
parts of Christendom these Divine Liturgies varied in 
detail, as would be natural from lack of intercommunica- 
tion and from multiplication of manuscripts. Yet their 
points of resemblance are many and unmistakable, and are 
distinctly traceable to four primitive forms, named for the 
respective Apostles, who, either personally or through 

their successors, gave them authority. 

(2) - - ir 



13 



THE CHURCH IN THE PR AY EE BOOK. 



Tnese are known as the Liturgies of (1) St. James, 
Bishop of Jerusalem ; (2) St. Mark, Bishop of xUexandria ; 
(3) St. Peter, Bishop of Rome ; and (4) St. John, Bishop of 
Ephesus. They are known as the Eastern, Alexandrine, 
Roman and Gallican Liturgies, and are perpetuated in 
some measure to this day in those parts of the Christian 
world. They are even referable to an apparently common 
and presumably Apostolic original, which it would not be 
difficult to suggest, by analysis of points of identity and 
divergence. The nucleus and essence of each is the Words 
of Consecration and Administration, as given at the origi- 
nal Institution. 

The channel through which England and America 
obtain their present Office of the Holy Communion is the 
same through which the Apostolic Succession or Historic 
Episcopate is derived, i. e. } from the Gallican Church 
through the Bishops of Lyons, to the See of Canterbury ; 
this (French) branch of the Church having been colonized 
from Ephesus, which was the See or Bishopric of St. John. 
A similar Liturgy was in use by the ancient Britons, and 
may have been derived from St. Paul, who probably 
visited the British Isles. When the Saxons, who were 
heathens, drove out the Britons, a remnant of the ancient 
British Church was left, with its threefold Ministry; and 
this Church was found existing in England by Augustine, 
the monk sent by Bishop Gregory, of Rome, in 596 A. D., 
to convert the Saxons. Through his influence these two 
Liturgies, the Gallican and the British, influenced also 
strongly by the Roman, were amalgamated, and were 
thus continued in use until 1085 A. D. after the Norman 
Conquest. Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, then revised it 



THE GROWTH OF THE LITURGY. 



19 



as the " use of Sarum " (or Salisbury), and this, with other 
diocesan uses, was maintained until the time of Edward 
VI., or the Reformation days of the sixteenth century. 

During nine hundred years of increasing ignorance and 
tyranny, which had then elapsed since the days of Augus- 
tine, false doctrines and superstitious practices had cor- 
rupted the pure Liturgy. These were swept away by 
learned Bishops and Clergy of what had now become a 
vigorous National Church, with Archbishop Cranmer at 
its head; and the tyranny and usurpation of the Bishop of 
Rome were thrown off, the purely political designs of the 
corrupt King Henry VIII. being made to serve the pur- 
poses of God. The Church Services were not rewritten, 
but compiled from existing Service-books, and enriched 
from primitive and forgotten sources. They founded no 
new Church, nor did they attempt to do so, like the mis- 
taken reformers on the Continent. They simply uprooted 
and destroyed the weeds which had long choked and cum- 
bered the fair garden of the Church, and restored it to 
something of its original purity. They were reformers 
like Hezekiah and Josiah in the Hebrew Church of old, 
* and their work was the work of masters. Unhappily the 
evil political alliance of Church with State was retained, 
to be laboriously disentangled by later generations. 

They found four classes of Service-books : the Breviary 
(or Daily Service), the Missal (or Communion Office), the 
Pontifical (or Ordination Offices), and the Manual (or 
Occasional Services). These they curtailed in bulk and 
reduced to one Book. They found several " uses " or 
editions, those of Sarum, York, Hereford, Lincoln, Bangor 
and Durham ; and they blended them into one purified 



20 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



form. They found the Services in Latin and translated 
them into English, retaining a few Latin and Greek titles, 
dear through long association. 

They found the Services arranged for nine different 
" hours " or periods of the day, i. e. } Nocturne (middle of 
the night), Matins (before day-break), Lauds (day-break), 
Prime (six A. M.), Tierce (nine A. M.), Sexts (noon), 
Nones (three P. M.), Vespers (evening), Compline (bed- 
time). Matins, Lauds and Prime were reckoned but one 
Service, leaving the theoretical number seven. Omitting 
entirely Tierce, Sexts and Nones, the reformers condensed 
these burdensome practices into Matins and Evensong, 
or Morning and Evening Prayer, adding the Litany or 
General Supplication on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday 
mornings. They rearranged the Psalter, so that it might 
be read through in twenty-eight (now thirty) days instead 
of seven, and omitted all Lessons or Selections for read- 
ing except those from Holy Scripture. They pruned 
away all superstitious and extravagant expressions, and 
then submitted their work to Convocation, by whom it 
was approved and adopted. 

(6) Modern. 

This was the first authoritative Book of Common Pray- 
er (called the FIRST PRAYER BOOK OF EDWARD VI.) 

which appropriately came into general use on Whitsunday, 
the Christian Day of Pentecost, June 9, 1549 A. D. The 
birthday of the Christian Church and that of the Anglican 
Prayer Book are thus identical; and this revision, known 
in the following pages as the First Book, has always been 
considered a model of liturgical and devotional excellence, 



THE GROWTH OF THE LITURGY. 



21 



and has largely and loftily moulded Anglican worship. 
As such it will have frequent mention here. In America 
the Prayer Book was first used by Rev. Francis Fletcher, a 
chaplain of Sir Francis Drake, at Drake's Bay, on the 
coast of California, on St. John Baptist's Day, in 1587. A 
second revision was made in Edward's reign and a subse- 
quent one under Queen Elizabeth, but neither was for the 
better, both being rather in the interest of the ultra-Prot- 
estants. Under James I. in 1611 A. D., came the present 
Authorized Version of the Bible, which, however, as regards 
the Psalms, did not supersede, for use in Churches, the ven- 
erable Prayer Book Psalter, already greatly endeared by over 
sixty years of use. Other Scripture selections employed 
in the Services are also from the Great Bible, like the 
Psalter, or else especially translated for this purpose. 

With the growth of the Puritan party the Prayer Book 
was abolished under Oliver Cromwell, and its use forbid- 
den. At the restoration of Charles II. a new revision was 
set forth in 1662, by Convocation, after the sessions of the 
famous Savoy Conference. This Caroline revision, though 
a decided variation from the First Book, was much nearer 
to it than the two intervening ones, and has held its place 
in constant use for more than two centuries. No change of 
moment has since been made in the English Prayer Book, 
except the introduction of a new and greatly improved 
Lectionary, or Table of Scripture Lessons, in 1871. It has 
been translated into nearly one hundred languages; and 
chiefly from it was made and set forth by our General 
Convention, at the beginning of our national life in 1789, 
the revision known as the First American Prayer Book. 

Before and during the early years of our independence 



22 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



as a National Church, we had a hard struggle for existence. 
The Anglican Service was forbidden in Massachusetts 
until liberty was secured by the Royal proclamation in 
1662. Opprobrium, often unreasonable, sometimes cruel, 
attached to anything of English origin. In spite of the 
fact that a majority of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence, and of the framers of the Constitution, were 
Churchmen, including the Father of his Country, still a 
Churchman was, in many minds, a synonym for a royal- 
ist. Added to this, the Church suffered terribly from her 
long existence in the colonies without the presence and 
supervision of Bishops. Nominally the Bishop of London 
had jurisdiction over the entire continent, but he never 
personally exercised it, and the anomaly existed for gen- 
erations of a Church, Episcopal in government, without 
the Episkopos, or overseer. Confirmations and ordinations 
were unknown except in theory, or unless long and danger- 
ous journeys were taken to England to obtain them ; while 
the Puritan spirit, so long prevalent in our country, could 
see nothing good in a Church of English association. 

At last in 1784 Bishop Seabury obtained consecration 
in Scotland under great difficulty, followed by Bishop 
White and others consecrated later in England, and these 
brought the Episcopate to America. The story of these 
early struggles is almost too interesting to forego here. To 
Bishop Seabury's dauntless sagacity we are primarily 
indebted; but his career was short as compared with that 
of Bishop White, who remained Presiding Bishop until 
1836. During a period of nearly fifty years his saintly 
life and consistent example were very useful factors in 
maintaining and defending ground already acquired. 



THE GROWTH OF THE LITURGY. 



But discouragements were great, and we dared not 
claim our heritage in anything like its integrity. The 
missionary spirit nagged in England and America, and 
the evils of a Church across the water, then too subservi- 
ent to the State and too worldly in its spirit, were felt by 
her daughter here. In 1821, the Domestic and Foreign 
Missionary Society was organized, and the Church itself was 
declared to be, by its very charter, the great Missionary 
Society. In the third decade of this century occurred the 
famous Tractarian or Oxford movement, which revived in 
the English Church the theology of the Incarnation, and 
quickened and spiritualized worship. In 1835, following 
the grandly constructive work of Bishop Hobart, the ag- 
gressive and evangelizing spirit fairly took possession of the 
American Church; the consecration of Bishop Kemper in 
that year to be the first Domestic Missionary Apostle of 
the Northwest Territory having been preceded, in 1830, by 
the establishment of our first Foreign Mission, a purely 
educational one, to Athens, in Greece. 

Rigid adherence to a formal attitude was still too com- 
mon: standards of canonical uniformity, then thought suffi- 
cient for our needs, would ill beseem us now as a working 
theory; and observances of great beauty and fitness, 
to-day almost universal and unchallenged, were then 
practically unknown. The need of some relaxation of 
rubrics was originally suggested, in 1853, by the Rev. 
Dr. Muhlenberg (one of the Church's very greatest names, 
well called " the saint among the priests")? in his celebrated 
Memorial looking towards Christian Unity, which resulted 
in the appointment of the first Commission on the sub- 
ject. In 1856, the House of Bishops formally declared 



24 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



that Morning Prayer, Litany and Holy Communion are 
separate Offices; that on occasions the Clergy might use 
parts of the Service, and that Bishops might provide 
Services for other special times. Since then, the Church 
has grown into greater prominence and influence, and is 
rapidly coming to be generally known for what she claims 
to be, in heritage and practice. 

At the General Convention of 1880, a Commission of 
twenty-one — seven each of Bishops, Clergymen and Lay- 
men — was appointed to consider a revision of the whole 
Book, in the interest of " liturgical enrichment and increased 
flexibility of use." Twelve years of prolonged and pray- 
erful study and scholarly discussion have followed, four 
triennial sessions of the General Convention have inter- 
vened, and we now have before us, as the deliberate judg- 
ment of the American Church, in a generation pre-eminent- 
ly equipped in liturgical knowledge, her duly authorized 
formulary for the coming century, in what is known as 
the STANDARD PRAYER BOOK OF 1892. The decis- 
ions by which the new Standard was set forth were har- 
monious and practically unanimous, and the shrine is 
worthy of the jewel it contains. 

It is the same hallowed volume long so dear to Christ- 
ian hearts, but with added treasures rescued from the past; 
its dogmatic standards freshly reaffirmed, and its arrange- 
ment and use adapted more effectively to minister to the 
changed and changing conditions of modern days. The 
additions comprise twenty Selections of Psalms and Proper 
Psalms, thirty-one Scripture Sentences, two Canticles, three 
Collects, Epistles and Gospels, nine Prayers, eleven Ver- 
sicles and one Litany Suffrage, and one entire Office. 



THE GROWTH OF THE LITURGY. 25 



In all matters of painstaking and minute scholarship in 
the matter of editing a work of such profound significance, 
in the course of which very many changes and corrections 
have been made, it leaves nothing to be desired, even 
to the uniform paging of all but its smallest editions. 
It bears no imprint of copyright, being the classical heri- 
tage of the English-speaking race, and it is burdened with 
no added expense of royalty or privilege. Indeed, editions 
are issued without any cost whatever, and freely distrib- 
uted as a missionary and educational agent, accompanied 
by printed directions for following the Services. 

Among its several previous revisions the (present) Eng- 
lish Book, with the First Book of 1549, are frequently 
cited in comparison with the American Book in the follow- 
ing pages. As it stands, the latter is a volume of several, 
more or less independent, books of Offices, i. e., The Daily 
Morning and Evening Prayer with their Tables of Lessons, 
The Litany, The Holy Communion with Collects, Epistles 
and Gospels for the round of the Christian Year, The Cate- 
chism and The Occasional Offices, The Psalter, The Ordi- 
nation Services and those succeeding, with The Articles of 
Religion; to which must be added, as an intimate adjunct, 
though bound separately, The Hymnal, which has also 
just received its last thorough and scholarly revision by 
the same authority. Roughly speaking, the Prayer Book 
may be subdivided into the Daily Service, the Office of the 
Holy Communion, and the Occasional Offices, some of 
which are habitually rendered by the Priesthood ; while 
others are restricted to the Episcopate. 



III. 



THE CHURCH'S ATTITUDE AND RELATIONS. 

"The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faith- 
ful men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and 
the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Chrisfs ordi- 
nance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to 
the same."— The Nineteenth Article of Religion. 

iQEFORE proceeding to an analysis of the Book itself, 
it will be well to devote a little time to the subject 
of the Church's position among religious bodies, suggested 
by her legal and official name, as set forth on its title-page, 
i. 6., "THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." It is an unfort- 
unate, anomalous, and misleading appellation ; a quasi 
adoption not formally conferred but forced upon us by out- 
side circumstances, which will not prove to be permanent. 
Owing to the prejudices and disabilities which confronted 
the beginning of her independent life, instead of calling 
her, as elsewhere, The Church (of America), a compromise 
was unhappily adopted, in the nature of an attempt to de- 
fine her characteristics by the two words, " Protestant " and 
" Episcopal." But the former of these adjectives is purely 
negative, unduly emphasizing the Church's points of differ- 
ence with the Church of Rome. And the second is tautolog- 
ical and needless (as if the Church belonged to the Bishops, 
rather than the Bishops to the Church), taking pains to 

26 



THE CHURCH'S ATTITUDE AND RELATIONS. 27 



assert Episcopacy of a body which maintains that govern- 
ment by Bishops is essential to the very validity of Church 
organization. 

The omission of both appellatives would simplify and 
strengthen the title, and harmonize it with the rest of 
Apostolic Christendom, by styling ourselves "The Church 
in the United States." A natural derivative from Epis- 
copal is the word a Episcopalian," a name applied to us 
originally by other religious folk, as New Englanders were 
dubbed " Yankees," and the Society of Friends " Quakers," 
and with about as much significance. So sectarian an 
appellation as this will speedily fall into deserved disuse 
if we steadily call ourselves " Churchmen ;" members of 
the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of the Creed, 
planted in America. 

The Church is often called a via media, or middle way, 
as she stands between Rome on the one hand and ultra- 
Protestantism on the other. This is no doubt true, but not 
in the nature of a compromise, and is not necessarily a 
permanent characteristic. She is what she is, regardless of 
the varying standards of others. She pursues her stead- 
fast way under her divine charter, preserving her Apostolic 
character, purged of superstitious and man-made addi- 
tions. This she has possessed from the beginning, and no 
" Church " not " Episcopal " was ever heard of till the 
sixteenth century. Then excess of godly zeal led Conti- 
nental reformers, in cutting away grievous corruptions 
from the fair body of the Church, to deal a blow at her 
very corporate life, and substitute organizations of purely 
human origin ; although at least Calvin sought in vain at 
first to preserve Apostolic order, while Luther, Melanchthon 



28 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



and Richard Baxter deplored the fancied necessity for an 
opposite course. But Englishmen, wiser and happier in 
their generation, divorced themselves from the entangling 
alliances of Papal tyranny, but clung to that threefold 
Ministry, which is in itself an abiding guaranty of the 
Lord's presence with His Church until the end. In Eng- 
land the movement was national and included the Bishops. 
On the Continent the reformers left the Church ; and ordi- 
nation by Presbyters, defended by them as of necessity, is 
justified by their children as of right. 

On the one side, then, stands the Roman Church, not 
unqualifiedly Catholic, as she vainly claims, and as is 
thoughtlessly conceded in common speech, but Papal and 
Roman — " the Holy Roman Church," as her own official 
titles aver. She stands with her venerable history, her 
fruitful labours, her godly lives, her Apostolic Ministry in 
three Orders ; but, superadded to it, the fourth Order of 
her Papacy with its groundless assumptions (and, as far as 
America is concerned, the unpatriotic allegiance claimed 
by a foreign potentate), the equally unwarranted and 
blasphemous articles foisted upon her Creed, her supersti- 
tious observances and preposterous claims on our credulity, 
and her worship in a language not understood by the 
common people. Her wanton additions to and perver- 
sions of pure doctrine, such as Transubstantiation (or the 
corporal and material presence of Our Lord's Body in the 
Holy Eucharist), Mariolatry (or the cultus of the Virgin 
Mary), the Immaculate Conception, the Invocation of the 
Saints, the Infallibility of the Pope, the denial of the Cup 
to the Laity in the Holy Communion: these corruptions, 
all promulgated since the days of primitive Catholic- 



I 

THE CHURCH'S ATTITUDE AND RELATIONS. 29 



ity, and most of them in modern days, can only receive 
passing notice here. Nor is there withal the least wish to 
withhold cordial recognition of the devotion and self-sac- 
rifice of the body of her Priesthood, and of their immense 
value in many ways as bulwarks and conservators of 
social order. 

Rome is the greatest foe to the Unity of Christendom, 
and is the old-time enemy of the great Greek Church, 
which owns a faith much nearer to primitive purity, and 
an Apostolic Ministry of undoubted descent ; and with 
which we are at least in cordial official relations, though 
not in complete intercommunion. Distant as seems the 
hope of reunion with Rome, it must come, if at all, on a 
basis of primitive usage. In such an event her false doc- 
trines must be abjured for the primitive Faith. Primitive 
Order would need no restoration in either of these great 
and ancient communions, save in the renunciation of the 
Papal claims of Rome. 

On the other side are the countless sectarian bodies 
into which the robe of Christ is rent, contrary to His own 
expressed will, and for which for the most part there was, 
alas ! so little need at their beginning. Their later gene- 
rations inherit an unfortunate entail in religious systems, 
of which most of their number are unhappily quite 
unaware, and for whioh they are certainly not primarily 
responsible. To enumerate even a list of them would be 
a difficult task, so endless is the tendency to subdivision, 
when once separation is begun ; until some are even found 
to profess schism as in itself a good ! Whatever may 
have been the original impulse which drove some of them 
away (and in this the Apostolic Church may not screen 



30 



THE CHURCU IX THE PRAYER BOOK. 



herself from blame), there is no excuse for their continued 
existence as distinct and warring systems, and this will be 
more and more felt until the Master's prayer is realized, 
and His Church is again One. In the meantime (to say 
nothing of the incalculable "waste of force, in time and 
money for work at home), the effect of such a jarring 
spectacle on the cause of Christian Missions, whether 
foreign or domestic, is little short of disastrous. 

The essence of schism is to reject a central and con- 
trolling bond. This bond is the Historic Episcopate 
which they all reject, though Episcopacy is the mother of 
them all. Many of them hold the leading doctrines of 
Christianity, but not in due proportion. Most of them 
are built either upon negations of some classes of beliefs, 
or upon an exaggerated value attached to others. Let us 
name a few of the greater and representative religious 
bodies, with their founders, and a few of their principal 
distinguishing features, which indicate such a limited 
basis. 

Presbyterians — John Knox, 1560 A. D. Government by 
their Presbyters alone (with us the second Order 
of the Ministry). 

Congregationalists — Robert Brown, 15S3 A. D . Independ- 
ency of individual congregations. 

Lutherans— Martin Luther, 1530 A. D. Justification by 
faith. Have a liturgy, and in Sweden a govern- 
ment by so-called Bishops who are, however, 
neither Diocesan, nor certainly known to be Apos- 
tolic in their origin. 

Baptists— Roger Williams, 1639 A. D. Invalidity of Bap- 
tism under any mode except immersion. 



THE CHURCH'S ATTITUDE AND RELATION'S. 31 



Friends — George Fox, 1647 A. D. Entire absence of 
forms or ceremonies. Non-combatants. 

Universalists — John Murray, 1785 A. D. Ultimate final 
salvation of the race. 

Unitarians — William E. Cbanning, 1815 A. D. (though 
existent in Europe in the sixteenth century). 
Denial of the tripersonality of the Deity. This 
is held, with great elasticity of statement by 
different wings. 

Methodists— John Wesley, 1784 A. D. Nominally Epis- 
copal in form and governed by so-called Bishops, 
but these Bishops not Apostolic, deriving only 
from Wesley ; himself a zealous Church of Eng- 
land Priest, denied by her the liberty for more 
aggressive work, and forced to employ his own 
methods. 

It would have been a great grief to Wesley could he 
have foreseen (as, indeed, he did in part and protested 
accordingly), to what great lengths his schism would grow. 
No doubt this would be the case with Luther himself, and 
even in some measure with Calvin, whose stern and for- 
bidding doctrines of predestination, election, total deprav- 
ity and an avenging Deity are now so thoroughly min- 
imized or abandoned by his own followers. 

It would, however, be less than truth not to acknowl- 
edge that but for a severe and even cruel policy under 
Elizabeth's Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, Separa- 
tists might not have left the Church of England, nor Pil- 
grim and Puritan have sought an alien home across the 
Atlantic, whither they carried an intolerance as fierce and 
a rigor as terrible as that which they had escaped. And 



32 



THE CHURCH IS THE PRAYER BOOK. 



again, in the eighteenth century, had sympathy and 
opportunity for work been granted Wesley and his fol- 
lowers by a worldly and Erastian Establishment, Method- 
ism would be within the Church's organization to-day. 
Many of the sects unite substantially upon more or less 
modified forms of Calvinistic doctrine. Most of them are 
non-liturgical, though their growing desire for a respon- 
sive ritual is manifest. 

To each of these bodies of Christians and to many 
others the Anglican Communion offers the tribute of 
loving recognition of their countless works of faith and 
love, known, recognized and blessed of our common Master ; 
nor does she fail to acknowledge her own shortcomings, 
and especially those which gave, in some cases, grievous 
cause for offense to those once of her own fold. She is 
the first and as yet the only body to formulate a definite 
proposition of reunion, putting into it nothing but the 
absolute and bare essentials. It is her ultimatum ; beyond 
this she can no further go. The grounds for this appear 
in the platform itself, which is a Declaration by the 
American House of Bishops, set forth in Chicago at the 
General Convention of 1886, and approved in England by 
the succeeding Lambeth Conference of one hundred and 
forty-five Bishops of the Anglican Communion in 1888. 
The whole Declaration is as follows : 

"We do hereby solemnly declare to all whom it may concern, 
and especially to our fellow- Christians of the different Commun- 
ions in this land, who, in their several spheres, have contended for 
the religion of Christ : 

- 1 . Our earnest desire that the Saviour's prayer, ' That we 
all may be one,' may, in its deepest and truest sense, be speedily 
fulfilled; 



THE CHURCH'S ATTITUDE AND RELATIONS. 33 



" 2. That we believe that all who have been duly baptized 
with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost, are members of the Holy Catholic Church ; 

" 3. That in all things of human ordering or human choice, 
relating to modes of worship or discipline, or to traditional cus- 
toms, this Church is ready in the spirit of love and humility to 
forego all preferences of her own; 

"4. That this Church does not seek to absorb other Com- 
munions, but rather, co-operating with them on the basis of a 
common Faith and Order, to discountenance schism, to heal the 
wounds of the Body of Christ, and to promote the charity which 
is the chief of Christian graces and the visible manifestation of 
Christ to the world ; 

"But furthermore, we do hereby affirm that the Christian 
Unity now so earnestly desired can be restored only by the return 
of all Christian communions to the principles of unity exempli- 
fied by the undivided Catholic Church during the first ages of its 
existence; which principles we believe to be the substantial deposit 
of Christian Faith and Order committed by Christ and His 
Apostles to the Church unto the end of the world, and therefore 
incapable of compromise or surrender by those who have been 
ordained to be its stewards and trustees for the common and 
equal benefit of all men. 

u As inherent parts of this sacred deposit, and therefore as 
essential to the restoration of unity among the divided branches 
of Christendom, we account the following , to-wit: 

"1 . The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as 
the revealed word of God. 

u 2. The Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Chris- 
tian Faith. 

"3. The two Sacraments — Baptism and the Supper of the 



34 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Lord — ministered with unfailing use of Christ's words of insti- 
tution and of the elements ordained by Him. 

" 4. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods 
of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and 
peoples called of God into the unity of His Church. 

" Furthermore, Deeply grieved by the sad divisions which 
affect the Christian Church in our own land, we hereby declare 
our desire and readiness, so soon as there shall be any author- 
ized response to this Declaration, to enter into brotherly confer- 
ence with all or any Christian bodies seeking the restoration of 
the organic unity of the Church, with a view to the earnest study 
of the conditions under which so priceless a blessing might 
happily be brought to pass." 

The phraseology of the four points given in this so-called 
quadrilateral as the basis of unity, was slightly varied at 
Lambeth, to read as follows, and in this form was accepted 
as its own by the House of Deputies of the General Con- 
vention of the American Church at Baltimore, in 1892, 
being now concurred in by the Church in all her Orders, 
viz.: 

" 1. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as 
1 containing all things necessary to salvation,'' and as being the 
rule and ultimate standard of faith. 

u 2. The Apostles' Creed as the Baptismal Symbol, and the 
Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. 

u 3. The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself — 
Baptism and the Supper of the Lord — ministered with unfailing 
use of Christ's words of institution, and of the elements ordained 
by Him. 

1 '4. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods 
of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and 
peoples called of God into the Unity of His Church." 



THE CHURCH'S ATTITUDE AND RELATIONS. 35 



The reunion of Protestant bodies with the Church on 
the basis of the first three of these four articles, would 
perhaps not be long delayed. Most leading thinkers and 
even religious organizations have practically professed their 
present holding of them as essential ; unless it be the advo- 
cates of a so-called Liberal Christianity, to whom all author- 
ity and all dogma is abhorrent, and with whom the cardi- 
nal doctrines of the Christian Faith are subjects for debate. 
Indeed, it is not easy to understand why those should claim 
the title of Christians who, however pure may be their 
lives, deny the divinity of Our Lord. It is historically 
undeniable that the rejection of Apostolic order leads rap- 
idly towards the loosening of the hold on other and vital 
Christian verities; and the truth concerning sacramental 
teaching has become so minimized and obscured by gen- 
erations of separation that it needs to be freshly learn ed 
and appropriated. 

It is the fourth article which is the test of the great 
question — the acceptance of the Historic Episcopate; which 
carries with it the necessity for re-ordination, to constitute 
an Apostolic Ministry. Yet just this, as she believes, is 
one of the great trusts given the Church by her Master, 
with which she has no right to part, and without which 
she has no claim to the promise. To their own Master 
other religious bodies stand or fall. The Lord of the har- 
vest has evidently and abundantly blessed their labours; 
but this does not affect our bounden duty and service to 
be faithful guardians of the truth of a perpetual succes- 
sion of living witnesses, as committed to our hands. Even 
here the Church asks of others nothing in the nature of 
hardship, but lovingly bids them share with her a glorious 



36 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



privilege and a sacred duty, in receiving at the hands of 
godly men the visible and tactual renewal and extension of 
a divine chain of blessing not otherwise promised, and 
unhappily sundered for many in these latter days, through 
the errors of less happy times. The value and strength of 
the Episcopate as a bond of union, or for leadership in 
aggressive work, where the Bishop is the chief Missionary, 
cannot, even humanly speaking, be questioned. The over- 
whelming majority of Christendom is Apostolio in a form 
of government whose historic continuity from the Apostles 
themselves, expanding the analogous threefold Ministry of 
the elder Jewish Church, is no more assailable as matter of 
fact than the succession of English Kings or American 
Presidents. Indeed, it has been more truthfully repre- 
sented as a network of innumerable strand s a rather than 
as a lengthening chain dependent on the strength of single 
links. 

Three groups of Christian bodies stand for the three 
great fundamental and structural principles of Church pol- 
ity which practically control them all, i. e., the Presbyterial 
principle, including Presbyterians and Lutherans ; the Con- 
gregational) including Congregationalists, Baptists, Univers- 
alists and Unitarians ; and the Episcopal, including the 
Church of Rome, the Methodists, Irvingites and Reformed 
Episcopalians. Whatever the system of the latter group, the 
Historic Episcopate is to be found nowhere among Protest- 
ant bodies in this country, but with the American Church. 
On the other hand, as has been well shown by a distin- 
guished divine of the first-named body in an argument for 
Unity, both Presbyterial and Congregational elements of 



THE CHURCH'S ATTITUDE AND RELATIONS. 37 



government are to be found in close connection in the 
Church which adheres to the Historic Episcopate. 

Few have presented the case more cogently than he, 
when he goes on to say : " No other Church system is at 
once so large and cohesive. The three elements, as fitly 
joined in one organism, make an ideal unity; and it is 
a unity which might become actual. Neither hierarch- 
ical nor sacerdotal claims have been put before us as terms. 
Not the Roman or Anglican prelacy, but simply the His- 
toric Episcopate as adapted to American Christianity ; 
not the priestly view of the Sacraments, but simply the 
sacramental words and acts themselves ; not the denom- 
inational Articles of Religion, but simply the Nicene Creed 
of a once united Church ; not even the revered Prayer Book, 
but simply the Holy Scriptures. Will any other Church 
sacrifice as much for the sake of unity?" — Prof. Charles W. 
Shields, of Princeton University. 

In the meantime our duty is to pray constantly for the 
advent of reconciliation on an impregnable basis, and each 
rendering of our Morning or Evening Prayer voices this 
petition. Loyal adherence to fixed standards is entirely 
compatible with large and loving charity for others, with 
whom we would fain share our birthright; a charity which 
should be commensurate with the responsibility laid upon 
us. Above all " the tree is known by its fruits," and the 
best of all arguments is the invincible power of a consist- 
ent personal example. To William Augustus Muhlenberg, 
more than to any other single name, does the American 
Church look back with gratitude after forty years for the 
! foundations laid of Catholic practices in worship now famil- 
iar as household words; but which won their way then, 



58 



THE CHURCH IJS THE PRATER BOOK. 



under God, through bitter obloquy, largely by the wide- 
spread recognition of his lofty character and the unchal- 
lenged sanctity of his motive. 

The contrasted aspects of what may be called the Prot- 
estant and the Catholic theories of the Christian Church 
and of its government, have been cogently set forth by 
another in this way. 

(Protestant.) (Catholic.) 
The Church idea : 



A human institution with 

a divine mission. 
An organization to attain 

Christianity. 
A company of believers. 
A society on earth seeking 

the kingdom of heaven. 

Its government: 
Of human appointment. Of divine ordering. 

For convenience. 
Needs no succession. 
May be created by the 

people. 



A divine institution with a 

human mission. 
An organization to dispense , 

Christianity. 
A corporation of believers. 
The kingdom of heaven 
seeking men on earth. 



For direction. 
Demands succession. 
Must descend from 
Head. 



its 



IV. 



THE CHURCH'S NATURE AND PURPOSE. 

" Built * * * * upon the foundation of the Apostles 
and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the head corner- 
stoned — The Collect for St. Simon and St. Jude's Day. 

" Give us grace that, being not like children carried away 
with every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the 
truth of Thy holy Gospel"— The Collect for St. Mark's Day. 

il We beseech thee, Lord, * * * * that, as we have 
known the incarnation of Thy Son Jesus Christ by the mes- 
sage of an Angel, so by His cross and passion we may be 
brought unto the glory of His resurrection." — The Collect 
for the Annunciation. 



HE Church is preeminently a Church of law and order. 



The sanctions with which she is invested are of four 
kinds, i. e., legal canon; rubrical direction ; established use ; 
and diocesan regulation. The first is to be sought in the 
records of her formal legislation ; the second in her Prayer 
Book ; the third and fourth are variable and often inter- 
changeable. The last two form a body of unwritten law, 
regulated by parochial custom and episcopal oversight. 
They sometimes constitute a precedent having almost the 
force of a canon, being often based on the authority of 
primitive and catholic usage ; but allow great liberty to 
choice and conviction, in many matters not essential to 
uniformity. A Church which claims to be Catholic must 
be widely comprehensive of the tastes, and tolerant of the 
opinions, of " all sorts and conditions of men." 




39 



40 



THE CHURCH IF THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Parishes in a given Diocese may differ widely in some 
mode of rendering the Service, though using the same 
Prayer Book and violating neither canon nor rubric. 
Whole Dioceses, in this respect, sometimes bear an impress 
of a nearly uniform character as to points of ritual observ- 
ance, the Diocesan Bishop being the source of direction 
and appeal, under canonical limitations. This unity in 
diversity is an elastic yet powerful bond of union. At 
different periods of her history (as in political and social 
spheres), undue predominance has no doubt been given to 
the expression of the views of different schools or parties 
in religious thought ; and this will be in some measure 
the case till the end of time. There is ample scope 
within her usage, from great simplicity of worship to lofty 
ceremonial. It should be carefully remembered, moreover, 
that the Prayer Book was never intended as a complete 
directory. It is to be judged in its use, like other laws 
and customs, by traditional interpretation, and was for- 
merly accompanied by written directions. " Ritual and 
ceremonial are the hieroglyphics of the Catholic religion, 
and are a kind of parable in action." 

In theory and in the unvarying teaching of her Offices, 
the infant is welcomed into and made a member of Christ's 
Church in Holy Baptism ; nurtured in its tender years by 
Family Prayer at the hearth-stone and by systematic 
instruction in the Church on the simple, essential truths of 
the Catechism, based on the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's 
Prayer and the Ten Commandments ; brought to the 
plenitude of sevenfold grace given by the Holy Spirit in 
Confirmation, or the Laying-on of hands by the Bishop, 
so soon as these truths are realized, and thereby admitted 



THE CHURCH'S NATURE AND PURPOSE. 41 



into the full privileges and blessings of the Holy Com- 
munion as the sustenance of Christian souls ; ministered 
to and followed with loving care as the inalienable right 
of the child of the Church in every condition and vicissi- 
tude of life, until, in the Burial Office, the body is rever- 
ently laid away for a time, and the soul, leaving the 
Church Militant, is commended to its Maker and Saviour, 
to await in the Church Expectant or the Rest of Paradise, 
the dawning of the Judgment Day, when soul and body 
shall be reunited and thenceforth a member of the Church 
Triumphant in Heaven. 

The Church abounds in innocent and helpful symbol- 
ism, a fruitful teacher which our finite natures often sorely 
crave. The truth of the Christian progress in this life and 
the next is symbolized in the Church building, which has 
the threefold division of Vestibule, Nave and Chancel, fitly 
suggesting Earth, Paradise and Heaven ; the latter portion 
of the sacred building being preferably toward the East, 
where rose the Sun of Righteousness. The Chancel is com- 
posed of recessed Choir and Sanctuary, even as Paradise 
and Heaven, distinct abodes of blessedness, are blended 
together in our thoughts and unrealized as yet by mortal 
eyes. Thus its general arrangement corresponds with that 
of the Hebrew Tabernacle and Temple, which were planned 
by God Himself. 

Daily Morning and Evening Prayer are the normal and 
prescribed order, though exigencies (such as a want of a 
sufficient number of clergy) oftentimes necessitate their 
omission ; and the observance of the Feast of the Holy 
Eucharist on the First Day of the week, the unvarying 
usage of the Primitive Church, is set forth in an Altar Ser- 



42 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



vice which provides as part thereof a distinct Collect, Epis- 
tle and Gospel for every Lord's Day in the glorious round 
of the Christian Year. The first half of this Christian 
Year follows closely the events of Our Lord's earthly life 
from Bethlehem to Calvary (its close preceded by a pro- 
longed season of Fasting and Prayer), and then on to the 
day of Pentecost ; the latter half recites His teachings and 
dwells on His example ; so that in due proportion the Faith 
is observed, and the Christian life carried forward with reg- 
ularity and systematic steadfastness. 

Her Ministry is a thoroughly educated body, conserva- 
tive of the best, in thought and practice ; and the staple of 
her instruction of the young is rounded and complete. In 
legislation she is thoroughly democratic. The rights of 
her laity are sedulously conserved, and her constitutional 
methods are sing alar ly analogous to those of the American 
Commonwealth to which she ministers. Her sympathies 
and methods are peculiarly adapted to the needs of the 
poor and the outcast. She pleads the cause of Missions as 
the first demand of her existence under her divine charter. 
If she be not a working missionary Church, she is naught. 

Her Services are made beautiful with floral offerings, 
lights, and harmonious and suggestive colours of the Sea- 
son's symbolism. The Word of God has the place of 
honour in every Service, and the Prayer Book itself is in 
great part Holy Scripture. Her prayers are most vener- 
able and holy models of devotion, none of them of later 
date than the Elizabethan era, and very many reaching 
back to the fifth and sixth centuries ; and their worthy 
rendering, considered merely as literary compilations, chal- 
lenges the highest efforts of her most cultured and spirit- 



THE CHURCH'S NATURE AND PURPOSE. 43 



ually-minded clergy. And the habitual use of such reverent 
petitions, which are a cold formality only to the unin- 
formed, the worldly, or the prejudiced, are no bar to less 
consecutive or even extemporaneous supplications, in cases 
of emergency or proven fitness, or in the work of Missions. 
In the latter case, as also in parochial use, simple leaflets 
or cards, with the Morning and Evening Prayer, and 
printed directions, are often employed for the benefit of 
those unfamiliar with the Service. 

Music is given great prominence as the " voice of praise 
and thanksgiving," and accorded a thorough and scien- 
tific study and method not elsewhere attained, and always 
under the express control and direction of the Minister, as 
indicated by specific rubrics. Those who serve at her 
altars or otherwise in holy things, wear a distinctive and 
dignified dress, slightly variant, as distinguishing the three 
Orders of Bishop, Priest and Deacon, or those who render 
the music or serve about the Sanctuary. It is mainly 
white, the color of purity, and, as a learned Bishop once 
said, " to conceal the changing fashions of men ;" the per- 
sonality of man being everywhere subordinated to the 
worship of God. She inculcates the reverent and har- 
monious worship of the body, without which the soul's 
worship is incomplete : sitting for instruction or in hear- 
ing the Word ; standing as before a King in praise, or as 
before His messenger, when exhorted in the liturgy, or 
when acting as witnesses ; and kneeling in Prayer and the 
reception of the Sacraments, which latter have highest 
honor in all her symbolism, teaching and ceremonial. 

With her the Incarnation, not the Atonement, is the cor- 
ner-stone of Christian doctrine, upholding the latter as its 



44 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



central and saving truth. By virtue of the Incarnation, 
the Word made Flesh, now exalted into the heavens, 
extends to His Church the benefits of His Redemption 
through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper ; 
the one that of the new birth, once administered, the other 
that of perpetual renewal. Thus the Sacraments are " the 
extension of the Incarnation," and the Church's system is 
essentially and preeminently sacramental in its character. 
Through this system she looks for a normal and healthful 
growth in grace in the individual Christian, through super- 
natural channels inspiring and supplementing conscien- 
tious Christian endeavour. 

She views with disfavor all unnatural and spasmodic 
methods, or public recitals of personal religious experi- 
ence. She looks sympathetically upon all innocent and 
healthful recreations and amusements ; and aims at the 
steadfast development, through the energizing influence of 
the Holy Spirit, of man's threefold personality of body, 
soul and spirit, in the essential attributes of Christian char- 
acter. She has no narrowly prescribed code of personal 
or social action, but points rather to the principles which 
should animate and guide the conduct of life. If her 
loyal children dwell lovingly on her time-honored customs 
and venerable usages, and love to speak of her as their 
Mother, it is not that she is a thing of ritual ceremonial, a 
relic of the past fettered by tradition. It is because she is 
the ever-living Bride of Christ, the heir of all the ages ; and 
out of her treasury she constantly brings forth " things 
new and old." 



V. 



BEFORE THE DAILY SERVICE. 



" And moreover, they he neither dark nor dumb Ceremonies, 
but are so set forth* that every man may understand what 
they do mean, and to what use they do serve. * * * And 
in these our doings we condemn no other nations, nor prescribe 
anything but to our own people only." — "Of Ceremonies," in 
the Prayer Book of the Church of England. 



REFIXED to every copy of the Prayer Book is an 



official CERTIFICATION that it agrees with the 
Standard (which is a certain Volume and not an edition), 
and this Standard is in the permanent care of a Custodian 
appointed by the General Church. The TABLE OF CON- 
TENTS names each office and subdivision of the Book, 
with a distinct treatment of the later Offices therein. The 
RATIFICATION follows, which solemnly sets forth the 
entire Book as " The Liturgy of this Church this being 
the joint legislative act of " the Bishops, the Clergy and 
the Laity," in Convention assembled. 

The PREFACE succeeds, as inserted in 1789, and is a 
carefully stated resume of the reasons which impelled to 
the original American revision. The absolute necessity 
that " the substance of the Faith be kept entire " is first 
premised ; followed by the statement that ritual, involv- 
ing both doctrine and discipline, may, where it does not 
touch the former, be altered according to edification. It 
recites certain former revisions, made in the interests of 




45 



46 



THE CHURCH 73 r THE PRAYER BOOK. 



u unity, reverence and devotion professes ourselves 
" indebted, under God, for our first foundation and a long 
continuance of nursing care and protection," to the Church 
of England ; and protests that we are " far from intending 
to depart therefrom in any essential point of doctrine, dis- 
cipline or worship ;" though here happily freed from the 
manifold evils of a State Church, and American in every 
thought and purpose of influence and endeavour. 

The general directions which follow, under the heading 
CONCERNING THE SERVICE OF THE CHURCH, detail 
certain important matters of constant liturgical observance, 
which will be more naturally considered as the parts of the 
Service here referred to are reached. They should be care- 
fully read, however, in this connection. It maybe here said 
that the Lectionary (or Tables of Lessons for the year), and 
the Psalter (or special responsive readings from the Psalms) 
are stated, in the directions and tables here and in those of 
the CALENDAR which immediately follow, to be of bind- 
ing obligation within the terms specified. All contingen- 
cies of ordinary public worship are expressly and carefully 
provided for in this regard, and provision made as well 
for private reading at morning and evening every day in 
the year. 

Any additional Services which may be held after these 
conditions are satisfied, are entirely within the discretion 
of the Minister, " from this Book," subject to the direction 
of the Bishop (or " Ordinary," a term signifying one who 
possesses the inherent right). And, for special occasions, 
for which " no Service or Prayer " has been provided, the 
Bishop is given authority to set forth binding forms. The 
use of Hymns and Anthems does not rest on quite the 



BEFORE THE DAILY SERVICE. 47 
: 

same legislative basis as that of the Prayer Book proper ; 
but the Hymnal is within authoritative limitations, and 
its contents are the choice of a truly conservative rever- 
ence. It embraces a wide range of lofty poetic and liter- 
ary excellence, heightened by true spiritual devotion. It 
follows the lines of the liturgy, and emphasizes the sepa- 
ration between distinct Services, or parts of the same. 

Following the extended tables of the Lectionary come 
the rules and tables which set forth the divisions of the 
Christian Year. These also will be more intelligently 
treated if left until the consideration of the Communion 
Office, with its Collects, Epistles and Gospels for every Sun- 
day and Holy-day. The occasion for these minute tables 
is that the majority of the Festivals and Fasts here recited 
are movable in their character ; most of them depending for 
their exact date upon the time of Easter, which changes, 
within the range of a month, from year to year, as did the 
Jewish Passover, of which it is the continuation. These 
changes are caused (following God's command in the Book 
of Exodus) by the variation in the time of the full moon 
of the month of March ; and the astronomical terms 
"Epact," "Cycle," "Golden Number," " Dominical (or Sun- 
day) Letter," are those employed to designate certain scien- 
tific features of the subject. 

We are now brought face to face with the ORDER (or 
ordinance) FOR DAILY MORNING PRAYER. In the First 
Book, and familiarly in the English Church as well as in 
our own, the terms Matins and Evensong are interchange- 
able for Morning and Evening Prayer ; the first of these 
being a condensation of the ancient English Services of 
Matins, Lauds and Prime, for the early hours of the day. 



48 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



In Cathedrals and College Chapels, as well as in many city 
Churches, where the essential conditions exist, a daily Ser- 
vice is the express custom as well as the Church's prescript- 
ive rule. At any Service the worshipper should at once 
kneel on reaching his place, and offer a silent prayer for 
strength and guidance while in the House of God. The 
first Collect in the Communion Office, known as the Col- 
lect for Purity, is suggested. The hearty use of a form is 
an excellent preventive, with both Minister and people, 
for wandering thoughts, which are very largely a matter of 
mere habit. A reverent sense of fitness will prevent un- 
necessary or irrelevant conversation at any time while in 
Church, either before or after a Service. If the comer is 
belated beyond the beginning of the Service, a pause 
should be made in the Vestibule, until the next change of 
posture on the part of the congregation or other fit oppor- 
tunity shall render his entrance as nearly unnoticed as 
may be. Tardiness at Church, unless absolutely unavoid- 
able, is an affront to the majesty of Him whom we worship, 
and is alst> largely a matter of habit. 

What features greet one strange to our worship ? In 
many of the older Churches in America, built when a 
better usage was not known or where other methods 
were and still are impracticable, the Choir is in a gallery 
over the entrance, which tends to make it a sort of rival 
to the other end of the sacred building. There should be 
bat one end of a Church, toward which attention is paid and 
whence the Service is directed ; and the music there should 
not be left to be led by hired singers or in an uncongrega- 
tional fashion, if it may be avoided. It is one of the great- 
est charms of the Service that the worship is very largely 



BEFORE THE DAILY SERVICE. 



49 



one of song, and capable of being musically rendered. 
The perpetual and perfect worship of the angels is one of 
song ; and the children of the Church should be trained 
from their youth to take reverent delight in the voluntary 
and free-will offering of their voices in the Choir, and to 
look upon themselves as so far a part of the Ministry. 

In the Service the " priesthood of the laity " has almost 
as active a share as have the Clergy themselves, coupled 
with those frequent changes of posture which do so much 
to relieve weariness and express different states of devo- 
tion ; and fervor and heartiness in the responses is of the 
very essence of the worship. What has been well styled 
a " holy alacrity " in its rendering will remove the slightest 
tendency to tedium. That the praises of God should 
be offered in any other way than by singing them is an 
innovation on the practice of both Jewish and Christian 
Church, from the time of Moses to the Reformation, not 
less than three thousand years. And these praises should 
be expressed in a manner so little technical that in them 
the congregation are not deprived of their just rights* 

Nothing superior to the combined voices of boys and 
men (sometimes supplemented by those of the other 
sex) has yet been devised, as a vehicle of public religious 
and responsive music, from the days of the Temple service 
to our own. Such vested (or robed) Choirs, properly 
arranged, facing each other on opposite sides of the Chan- 
cel, which is raised above the Nave and on one side of which 
is the Organ, are coming to be of very general use ; and 
will doubtless become much more so, where the supply 
of voices, a competent choirmaster, and a Chancel suffi- 
ciently spacious, may be had. Aside from their musical 

(4) 



50 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



and objective value as factors contributing to dignified 
worship, the influence of organized Churchly training and 
of religious associates is of great importance to the ripening 
intelligence of those who compose them, many of whom 
would, without such Choirs, remain practically incapable 
of being reached. 

These two divisions of the Choir are named Decani and 
Cantoris, as being, in Cathedrals, the respective sides of 
the Dean and Cantor (or Precentor). The Chancel is as- 
sumed (conventionally, if not in fact,) to face to the East, 
which gives a " west front " to most Cathedrals at their 
entrance, and names the right side facing the Chancel the 
South, and the left side the North. These two sides are 
respectively known as the Epistle and Gospel sides, 
because from one is read the word of Apostles, the Prayers 
of the ordinary Service and the preached Sermon, all of 
them the words of men, though some of them inspired,] 
while from the other side the Word of God is habitually 
read, together with the Gospel in the Communion Office, 
which narrates the words or acts of our Saviour. 

Opposite the Pulpit is the Lectern, from which the 
Bible is read. At one side of the Chancel or the other, 
and preferably near an entrance, as being the emblem of 
Baptism, the door into the Church's fold, stands the Font. 
The other Sacrament is always kept in memory by the 
Altar, which stands elevated at the extreme rear of the 
Chancel, behind the Altar-rail, at which communicants 
kneel to receive the Holy Eucharist. In general, the Offi- 
ces are rendered from the Choir, while the Sanctuary is 
ordinarily reserved for the Communion Service ; and the 
entire Chancel is recessed, except in some Churches built 



BEFORE THE DAILY SERVICE 



51 



at an early day in America. The word " Nave," or body of 
the Church, is from the Latin navis, a ship ; hence typic- 
ally the ark of salvation. These general characteristics of 
the Church building obtain, whether its style of architecture 
be Gothic, Renaissance, Byzantine or other ; and in any 
case a cross surmounts tower or spire. 

Three similar uses of colours exist, with which the hang- 
ings of Pulpit, Lectern, Prayer-desks and Altar may be 
adorned, as well as the dress of the Clergy: those of Sarum, 
Rome and the East. Each is emblematic of the varying 
seasons and teachings of the Church year ; green being 
the colour of nature's life, red that of love, violet of peni- 
tence, and white of purity. The Clergy (and Choir, if 
vested), wear black cassocks, over which are garments of 
white. The Bishop's robes are the more closely confined 
and of a different pattern, lawn and satin being the mate- 
rials. Priests and Deacons wear a surplice of white linen, 
with a stole or band of silk over the shoulders, in colours to 
correspond with the seasons, or in black. With the former 
Order the stole depends in front on each side ; with the 
latter, it is caught from the left shoulder across to the side 
opposite. The surplice of Choristers and Lay-readers is 
shorter, and is called a cotta. Coloured hoods, which are 
sometimes worn, are academic and not strictly ecclesias- 
tical in their character. At the Holy Eucharist, the vest- 
ments of those officiating are somewhat different in shape 
from those named, and are often highly ornamented with 
embroidery and rich colours. In ordinary attendance, aside 
from a Service, the cassock alone is worn. The exact status 
of ecclesiastical vestments (which have been universal since 
the ages of persecution), has never been accurately defined 



52 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



by legislation in the American Church, but is a matter of 
usage and precedent. In this respect, as in others, we 
derive from the Church of England, and there the usage 
is what legally prevailed in the second year of King Edward 
VI. With reference to all the Church's customs, far juster 
and more intelligent ideas are rapidly gaining ground as 
to their true relation to the superstitious extravagances of 
Rome. 



VI. 



THE PENITENTIAL PREFACE. 

"■The Scripture moveth us, in sundry places, to acknowl- 
edge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; * * 
* * to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same, 
by His infinite goodness and mercy, ." — The Exhortation in 
the Daily Service. 

jWTORNING and Evening Prayer, being separate Services, 
\ may be preceded by a Hymn, generally processional in 
its character, and if so prefaced, by an intoned prayer from 
the Sacristy. The vested Choir, generally led by a Crucifer, 
or boy Cross-bearer, with the emblem of our salvation 
raised on high, as the congregation rises, file reverently in, 
two by two, singing a Hymn or Anthem, the men coming 
last, followed by the officiating Minister, and take their 
places in their stalls in the Choir. If the Bishop and other 
Clergy be present, the latter precede in reverse order of 
rank or seniority, and the Bishop, who comes last of all, 
passes to his own Chair, which is in or near the Sanctuary. 

The Morning and Evening Service are alike logically 
separable into four portions. The first is the Penitential 
Introduction, and closes with the Absolution. The sec- 
ond is Praise and Thanksgiving, beginning with the Lord's 
Prayer, and including the Psalter, the Te Deum and the 
Canticles. The third is the Word of God as read in the 
Lessons and summed up responsively in the Creeds. The 



54 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



fourth is the voice of Prayer, expressed by the final Col- 
lects. Throughout, the Minister acts alternately for God 
and for man. He speaks in God's name in the Sentences, 
the Exhortation, the Absolution and the Lessons from Holy 
Scripture. Here he faces the congregation and directly 
addresses them. In the General Confession, the Lord's 
Prayer, the Versicles, Canticles, Psalter, Creed and Col- 
lects, he joins responsively with the people as their repre- 
sentative, kneeling with them in prayer, or standing before 
them, as a leader before an army. According to the nature 
of his functions here and elsewhere in the Services, his 
attitude is prophetic, priestly or kingly. 

Standing, he begins the Service from the Choir by read- 
ing one or more of the OPENING SENTENCES. In the 
First Book the Service began with the Lord's Prayer, as we 
are now privileged to do when the Office of the Holy Com- 
munion is to follow. What precedes that Prayer is peni- 
tential in its character, and was prefixed at the dissolu- 
tion of the monasteries, when private confession was relaxed 
and a public one enjoined. It is " the Minister " who is to 
begin. In the language of the rubrics, this means, as old 
Bishop Cosin says, " he who at that time ministereth," be 
he Bishop, Priest, Deacon or simple Layman. The ordinary 
clergyman (an appellation indicating merely his 'profes- 
sion) has many titles. He is a Minister when officiating ; 
as Rector, he has the direction of a Parish ; as Pastor, he is 
the shepherd of his flock ; as Priest, he administers the 
Sacraments. In England, where the Church is established 
by law, a Parson or Rector controls livings, a Vicar is the 
deputy of a lay Rector, and a Curate the Vicar's assistant ; 
the Curate having by rights, as in the English Book, the 



THE PENITENTIAL PREFACE. 



55 



" cure " of souls. There is need of a more endearing term 
than any of these. Perhaps the most comprehensive term 
for the clerical office is to be found in the words, Parish (or 
Mission) Priest. The Morning and Evening Service may 
be rendered by a Lay Reader when licensed thereto by the 
Bishop. 

This first rubric (like all the others, originally printed in 
red, as in old Roman law-books) says in the English Book, 
" with a loud voice meaning, " in a plain tune, after the 
manner of distinct reading," as in a rubric older still. 
Musical intonation, or " plain song," was and often is the 
mode of reciting the Service, and is certainly much better 
adapted to hearing in large Churches. The Sentences, 
twenty-seven in number, are all invitatory in their char- 
acter, and designed to give the keynote to the whole Ser- 
vice. There were originally but fourteen (only eleven in 
the English Book, and all of these penitential), and they 
were the same at Morning and Evening Prayer ; but these 
now differ in some respects, and many have been added. 
The first four are general and incite to reverential devo- 
tion ; the last ten are penitential ; those between are 
especially adapted to the leading Feasts and Fasts of the 
yearly round, as they occur. 

When the Holy Communion, which has its own peni- 
tential preface, is immediately to follow, all may be 
omitted from this point to the Lord's Prayer, with a " bid- 
ding " (" The Lord be with you," etc.) prefixed to the lat- 
ter. On any day but Sunday the shorter form, " Let us 
humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God," may here be 
substituted for the EXHORTATION, which dates from 
1552, and is paraphrased largely from the Bible. It is re- 



56 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



markable for the loving tone with which, beginning "Dearly 
beloved brethren," it brings out the three great elements of 
all true and effective worship, i. e.: Thanksgiving and 
Praise, Hearing the Word, and Prayer; preparatory to 
which must come a true Confession and Absolution, It is 
also noted for its combined use of Saxon and Latin words of 
similar meaning to express the same thought, as " sundry " 
and " manifold," " acknowledge and confess," " dissemble 
and cloak," "sins and wickedness ;" a usage arising from 
the fact that Latin was the language of the learned, and 
Saxon of the more ignorant, at the time of its compilation. 
There are other Exhortations in the Prayer Book, e. g., 
those in the offices of Holy Baptism, Confirmation, Mat- 
rimony, the Holy Communion, etc. 

The GENERAL CONFESSION was added in 1552. An- 
other exists in the Communion Office and that used in 
peril at sea, one in the service for Ash- Wednesday, etc. 
This is more full than those, but perhaps not so fervent. 
They are all confessions of sin, not of faith, though they do 
not instance particular sins. It is to be said, like all similar 
responsive prayers, after the Minister, L e., accompanying 
him at a perceptible interval, and all kneeling. It is 
addressed to the Father and is full of simplicity, exact- 
ness and fervour. Its contents are a paraphrase of Romans 
vii. 8-25. The rubric which precedes the Confession At 
Sea may well be complied with here — " In which every 
one ought seriously to reflect upon those particular sins 
of which his conscience shall accuse him." 

It is naturally divisible into three portions, L e. , con- 
fession of sin ; prayer for pardon ; prayer for grace. Sin 
is defined as a straying from the right way through the 



THE PENITENTIAL PREFACE. 



57 



desires of our own diseased wills. By sins of omission and 
commission the soul's health is destroyed. Sins of omis- 
sion are placed first, as constituting the great bulk of 
human offenses. At the Great Day it will be the things 
we have "not done to the least of these" for which we 
shall be mainly judged. Pardon is pleaded for those who 
confess, restoration for the penitent, and both through the 
Atonement of Christ , while grace is besought through His 
Intercession and to God's glory. The words " godly, 
righteous and sober life " imply respectively our duties to 
God, to our neighbour and to ourselves. In all places where 
the Amen is printed in Roman like the text, it is to be said 
by the person or persons who have said the preceding 
prayer or formula ; and here the Minister confesses with 
the people. The fact that public confession is here set 
forth does not invalidate the need felt by all at times for - 
private confession. This latter is expressly suggested in 
the Communion Office, under most careful restrictions. 
Such confession is, however, radically and essentially dif- 
ferent from the compulsory confession of the Roman 
Church, which is enforced by penalties. 

The DECLARATION OF ABSOLUTION OR REMIS- 
SION OF SINS is God's answer to Confession. In the 
English Book the word " declaration " is omitted. It is to 
be made by the Priest alone (sometimes superseded by the 
Bishop, if he be present), standing ; as an authoritative act, 
in the name of Christ, who alone can forgive sins. All 
power is given Him in heaven and earth, yet He is ever 
present in His Church and acts through His duly commis- 
sioned Ministry. It is declaratory, not petitionary, in its 
nature, and is not to be used by a Deacon or a Lay-reader. 



58 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



It is a general Absolution to a mixed congregation, and 
thus may be said to be sown broadcast on ground of vary- 
ing receptiveness, where that " received into honest and 
good hearts " will bring Remission of sins. The Priest 
lends his mouth and hands in the external acts ; it is 
Christ who internally absolves, and then only when men 
repent. This public office need not supersede a private 
declaration, when the need may be manifest. 

Like the General Confession, it naturally assumes three 
divisions, i. e. y the Preamble, the Absolution itself, and the 
Exhortation. The first names its source in the Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, who " hath given power and com- 
mandment to His Ministers to declare and pronounce." 
Hence the Priest, being commanded, may not withhold 
the Declaration on grounds personal or other, where the 
prevailing conditions are pleaded. The grounds of the 
Absolution itself (the second sentence), are Repentance and 
Faith, the same requisites as for the reception of the Sac- 
raments. The Exhortation is to prayer for a true repent- 
ance, the grace of the Holy Spirit, and final triumph, 
w through Jesus Christ our Lord " (a phrase which closes 
more of the Church's prayers than any other). The re- 
spective offices of the three Persons in the Trinity are won- 
derfully interwoven here. Amen signifies the congrega- 
tioD's assent to the petition, with the aspiration that the 
benefits may be theirs. 

There follows an alternative form, not in the English 
Book in this place, but occurring there in the Communion 
Office where we also have it ; and far more suitable there 
than here, as being more fervent and less general in its 
scope, and more personal in its application, than the earlier 



THE PENITENTIAL PREFACE. 



59 



one. It is precatory or benedictory, rather than declar- 
atory, and uses the pronoun " you," implying the presence 
of a body of believers. In structure and significance it 
resembles the other, but dwells more on the workings of 
God's mercy. 

In the Ordinal, or Ordination of Priests, the Church 
does not hesitate to confer on them the original authority 
conveyed by her Divine Head, repeating His words : 
" Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven ; and 
whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained." This 
authority is involved in the Administration of the Sacra- 
ments ; and the Remission of sins conferred in Baptism is 
renewed at every Absolution. There are four modes in 
which this absolving power may be officially exercised. 
They may be termed the absolution of prayer, or the power 
to intercede through Christ's merits ; declaratory absolu- 
tion, or the power to declare the Gospel ; the absolution 
of discipline, or the power to exclude scandalous sinners ; 
and sacramental absolution, or the power to admit to and 
administer the Sacraments. 

The principal respects in which the power of a Priest, 
or fully commissioned Minister, exceeds that of a Deacon, 
are that he may pronounce the Absolution, give the Bene- 
diction and celebrate the Holy Communion. From what 
has been said of the grave importance of the Introductory 
portion of Morning and Evening Prayer, which closes 
here, it is evident that lack of punctuality at Church 
works a deprivation of great blessings. 



VII. 

THE LORD'S PRAYER AND VENITE. 



" come, let us worship and fall down : and kneel before 
the Lord our Maker. 

"For He is the Lord our God : and we are the people of 
His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.," — The Venite. 

HE second and third divisions of the Service, that of 



Thanksgiving and Praise and that of God's Word, 
are closely interwoven by the alternation of the Psalter 
and Canticles with the Scripture Lessons. The second 
division begins here, as the Minister kneels and recites 
the LORD'S PRAYER, the people repeating it with him, 
It was the beginning of the entire Service in the First 
Book, and is there called the Pater noster. The rubric as 
to the people's invariable accompaniment does not apply 
to its use at the opening of the Communion Office. It 
here confirms and seals the word of Absolution, sets us free 
from sin to the liberty of the sons of Our Father, and 
opens the door to Praise. 

There is no public service of the Church whatever with- 
out the Lord's Prayer, and it always has the place of hon- 
our. Here it is the first distinct Prayer in the Service. It is 
a striking example of Christ's approval of a form, and was 
twice given by Him ; once in response to a direct request 
for instruction, and once in the Sermon on the Mount. 
It is the universal every-day prayer of humanity, and 




60 



THE LORD'S PRAYER AND VENITE. 



61 



though very general, it covers every need. Its petitions 
may often be used with a special intention, as " Thy king- 
dom come," for the salvation of the heathen, for the Second 
Advent of Christ, or for the reign of grace in our own 
hearts ; and " Thy will be done " in the Church, in the 
State, or in personal doubt or affliction. 

Its parts are four, i. e., invocation ; three petitions for 
God's glory ; three for ourselves ; ascription. The order 
of thought is the same as that of the Ten Commandments. 
As children of a common Father, we are all brethren in 
His blessed Son, and the Invocation summons us to filial 
trust and reverence, and to fraternal communion. He is 
Our Father by creation and by redemption ; in heaven 
preeminently, but not exclusively. In the first of the 
three petitions for God's glory, Hallowed be Thy Name, 
the spirit of devotion is enjoined. We place Him before 
ourselves, and make all things holy that bear His name : 
His Word, His Church, etc. In Thy kingdom come, we 
pray that it may come in us, in the world, in eternity. 
Such a coming brings heaven down to earth, and raises 
earth to heaven. By it sin will be destroyed, by which 
death and Satan rule. This is the spirit of loyalty. His 
kingdom is delayed by human resistance to His will. 
That will is learned by prayer, and so we ask that Thy 
will be done, as it is in heaven, where all is for love and 
nothing for reward. This petition inculcates the spirit 
of obedience. It includes the spread of Missions, the 
reunion of Christendom, and our own sanctification. 
Thus far the Prayer resembles the first table of the Deca- 
logue. 

Of the three petitions for our own wants, the first, Give. 



63 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



us this day our daily bread, is for temporal ones. Such 
petitions are sanctioned, yet restricted to our necessi- 
ties. We ask for daily bread, the things needful for the 
body ; and " having food and raiment, let us be therewith 
content." More than this, the needs of the soul are here 
implied (as warranted by some versions of the passage), in 
the thought of that "super- substantial " or celestial Bread, 
which came down from Heaven, and that Water of Life, after 
taking of which we shall never thirst. The other two re- 
quests for spiritual blessings are not limited, but expanded 
and earnest. In Forgive us our trespasses, we ask that 
our debts of thought, word and deed may be blotted out. 
But our only warrant for hope is in manifesting a for- 
giving spirit ; " with what measure ye mete, it shall be 
measured to you again." This is the only petition with 
a condition attached. Its spirit is the one likest to 
Christ, and the hardest to our finite natures. 

The next clause is in two parts, mutually dependent, 
as shown by the punctuation. All temptation is a " try- 
ing," and in this sense God will surely terhpt us ; but not 
" above that we are able," and will " make a way of escape 
that we may be able to bear it." We pray that He Lead 
us not into temptation, or rather that He keep us from 
putting ourselves in its way, and that we take heed lest 
we fall. We must not tempt God, and must be watchful 
to be found only in the path of duty, wherein alone 
protection is vouchsafed. Deliver us from evil means, 
above all, from the Evil One and all his angels, the source of 
all real evil. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and 
the pride of life, to which Adam yielded, were overcome by 
Christ, in Whom alone is grace to resist our temptations 



THE LORD'S PRAYER AND VENITE. 



03 



from within. Sorrow, sickness, suffering are not neces- 
sarily evils, but trials ; there is no real evil but sin, i. e., a 
separation from God, who is "of purer eyes than to behold 
iniquity." In God's forgiveness of sin we see the beginning, 
in His support in temptation the continuance, and in His 
deliverance from evil the triumphant close of our whole 
spiritual life. 

While the Lord's Prayer is that of the whole Church, 
and of all mankind, yet each petition has exceptional fit- 
ness among different classes. As has been touchingly said, 
"hallowed be Thy Name," is the prayer of the angels; 
" Thy kingdom come," that of the faithful departed ; " Thy 
will be done," that of the living ; " give us our daily bread," 
that of all creatures ; " forgive us our trespasses," that of 
sinners ; and " deliver us from evil," that of infants. The 
entire Prayer, if rightly conceived, is Christ's own prayer 
for Unity. Its doxology, or ascription of glory, For Thine 
is the kingdom, etc., is not given by St. Luke, nor is it 
in the best manuscripts of St. Matthew. It was perhaps 
added for a liturgical use, and is employed in the liturgy 
when the feature of praise is present. 

The VERSICLES which follow, and which have been 
called the " Sursum Corda" (or " Lift up your hearts"), of 
the Daily Service, are very old, being the survival of its 
ancient penitential introduction. St. Benedict mentions 
them in 543 A. D. They are from the 51st Psalm, and fol- 
low the use of the Eastern Church. We cannot properly 
show forth praise until God opens our lips. The English 
Book adds two Versicles to these, i. e., "0 God, make 
speed to save us," and " Lord, make haste to help us." 
These short, ejaculatory Prayers (or preces) are in contrast 



64 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



with the Collects (or orationes), which are longer and more 
thoughtful. 

Rising from their knees, Minister and people break forth 
antiphonally (responsively) in the GLORIA PATRI, or 

" Glory be to the Father," which has been in constant use 
in the Church, daily in many parts of the world, sub- 
stantially from Apostolic times. It is familiarly known 
as the Gloria, from its frequent use here and elsewhere in 
the Service, although there are other Glorias, as the Gloria 
Tibi, and the Gloria in Excelsis. When in use in the East- 
ern Church in the third century, it was without the sec- 
ond clause. This was added and made universal in the 
fourth century as a standing protest against the heretic 
Arius,who denied Our Lord's divinity ; and as an affirma- 
tion of the "faith once delivered to the saints." It is the 
special utterance of Christian praise to the Holy Trinity. 
It is used in the same position as ours by Eastern and 
Continental Churches. In essence it is the Angelic Hymn 
of Isaiah's vision, and as heard by the shepherds. In its 
present Trinitarian form it follows the words of Christ in 
the Baptismal formula. The succeeding response to the 
Minister's summons, " Praise ye the Lord," was, in the 
First Book, from Easter to Trinity Sunday, "Alleluia;" 
reminding us of the Antiphon of Rev. xix. 5, 6, or of the 
unity of worship in the Church, on earth and in heaven. 

The doctrine of the Trinity in Unity here set forth is a 
Mystery, like that of the Incarnation and of Redemption, 
but none the less a fact. It was gradually revealed in the 
Old Testament from the hints in Genesis, continued in the 
veiled statements of the Prophets, and perfected in the 
revelation of the Son and the coming of the Spirit in the 



THE LORD'S PR AY EH AND VENITE. 



65 



New. It was the office of Judaism to manifest the Unity 
of the Godhead among the heathen nations of antiquity ; 
and the life of the Jewish Church may be said to be the 
era of the Father. That of the Son came when He " brought 
life and immortality to light through the Gospel"; and 
that of the Holy Ghost succeeded at the first Christian 
Pentecost, and will continue till God's " Spirit is poured 
out upon all flesh,' , and the end shall come in our Lord's 
return. Their three offices are those of Creator of " all the 
world," Redeemer of "all mankind," and Sanctifier of "all 
the people of God," as stated in the Catechism. Their re- 
spective attributes are often given as those of Power, Wis- 
dom and Love. They are " Three Persons in one God." 
How this great Mystery of three distinct Persons in one 
divine Nature can exist, will be further considered in the 
Creeds. Prayers are generally addressed to the Father, 
through the Son, and by the Holy Ghost. 

The symbolism of the Trinity is various, and nowhere 
more needed than to suggest this doctrine, so far beyond 
finite comprehension. The triangle, trefoil or clover leaf, 
or the three forms of water, ice and vapor, are little more 
than hints. A suggestive, if not a complete, expression is 
the sun in heaven as the source of light (betokening the 
Father); that light coming to earth as rays (the Son); 
those rays giving animal and vegetable life by chemical 
action (the Holy Ghost); yet all are light, from Him who 
is all Love. An ancient custom, common in the Gloria, 
is that Minister and Choir face with the people to the 
Chancel (constructively the East). This custom was en- 
joined in the ancient English Psalter, and is a solemn 
assertion of our belief in the doctrines expressed in the 

(5) 



66 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Gloria. From the ascription of praise thus rendered to the 
Trinity we properly withhold the bowing of the head in 
worship; reserving that attitude for those parts of the Ser- 
vice, as in the Creed, wherein we expressly state our belief 
in the Incarnation. 

The succeeding rubric is the first direction for music. 
The Anthem which follows, and which, like all other Can- 
ticles, is always sung when possible, is familiarly known as 
the VENITE ("O come"), from its first Latin word with 
which, in common with all the Psalms, it is inscribed. 
Special days have sometimes special Anthems appointed 
in place of the Venite, which is also omitted entirely when 
it is read in the Psalter ; where it comes in order, as the 
95th Psalm, on the nineteenth morning of every month. 
In the English Book it is this 95th Psalm entire; we drop 
its last four verses and insert in their place the ninth and 
thirteenth verses of the 96th. 

Even from the days of the Temple service the Venite 
has been the invitatory Psalm, and it is now the song for 
Friday evening, the eve of their Sabbath, in the Jewish 
synagogue. It is full of praise to the God of nature, who 
is also the God of revelation, and it is an adoration of Christ, 
" by whom all things were made." His individual care is 
tenderly dwelt on, and offset by a warning of our responsi- 
bility. Since 850 A. D., the use has existed of christianiz- 
ing (so to speak) the Jewish Psalms, whether in Canticles 
or Psalter reading, by adding to each of them the Gloria 
Patri ; and whenever so used, unless sung, the Gloria is to 
be begun by the Minister. The Gloria in Excelsis may be 
used at the end of the Psalter — a provision almost never 
availed of in the Morning Service. This Hymn is printed 



THE LORD'S PRAYER AND VENITE. 67 



in the Evening Prayer, at which point a further explana- 
tion is made concerning it. 

The word " anthem " has come to have a restricted pop- 
ular meaning as a more florid rendering of religious com- 
positions ; the offering by the Choir to Almighty God of 
the best of their musical attainments. It is not used in 
this sense in the Prayer Book, being akin to antiphon, the 
Greek word for responsive singing. The first religious 
music known was the antiphonal chanting of Moses and 
Miriam and their followers at the Red Sea ; and this was 
the mode of the Jewish Church. The Hebrew version of 
the Psalms has musical directions in nearly every case. 
The impressive devotional music of the seventh century, 
called Gregorian after the great Bishop, though known be- 
fore his day, afterward became so corrupted that the Coun- 
cil of Trent debated the entire exclusion of music in 
Churches. Its grand yet simple tones, flexible and within a 
narrow range, render it very easy for a congregation to join. 

There are three ways for the musical recitation of the 
Psalter and Canticles. In direct chanting, they are sung 
throughout by the whole Choir. In responsive chanting, 
the Minister renders the odd-numbered verses, and the 
people the even ones. In antiphonal chanting, the two 
sides of the Choir sing alternate verses, or a part of each 
verse alternately. The last mode is that inherited by the 
Christian Church from the Jewish, and is the most satis- 
factory in emphasizing the significance of each passage. 
The entire Psalter and all the Canticles are " pointed," or 
punctuated with a musical colon, to properly indicate this 
division. In a Service chorally rendered throughout, as 
is now growing common, the Prayers and the Creed are 



68 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



also recited in a low-pitched musical monotone by the 
Minister, joined in the responsive portions by Choir and 
congregation. In ordinary reading, after an announce- 
ment of the Selection, the Psalter is recited responsively, 
the Minister and the people taking alternate verses. 



VIII. 



THE PSALTER, CALENDAR AND LECTIONARY. 

" That by patience and comfort of Thy holy Word, we may 
embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting 
life, which Thou hast given us in our Saviour, J esus Christ." 
— The Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent. 

"And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, 
and years.' 1 '' — Genesis i. 14. 

HE PSALTER was the authorized Hymnal of the 



ancient Jewish Church. Nearly one-half of the 
Psalms have been attributed to King David, and about 
one-third are anonymous ; a few are ascribed to Moses, 
Solomon, Asaph, Ethan, the sons of Korah, etc. They 
are the work of many ages and authors, and their forma- 
tion stretches over several hundred years. The first col- 
lection of them was made by Solomon for the worship of 
the Temple, and their systematic use was begun at its 
dedication. Before his day Psalms had been written, like 
those of Moses and Miriam, Deborah and Hannah ; and 
of much later date were those by Hezekiah, Ezra, Nehe- 
miah, etc. The entire collection which now bears David's 
name was in liturgical use for four hundred years before 
Christ, and had been a gradual growth for still six cen- 
turies preceding that. Our Lord quotes from them in the 
Greek Septuagint version, and they were never used in the 




69 



* 



70 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Hebrew by the early Christian Church, in which they had 
a very high place. 

St. Jerome, the translator of the Vulgate, or Latin ver- 
sion of the Bible, left three versions of the Psalms ; and 
his Gallican version, 389 A. D., taken from the Septuagint, 
has since been and is now that used by the Roman 
Church. The Prayer Book version is nearly seventy years 
older than that of King James, and much better adapted 
to liturgical use. It is here separated into sixty nearly 
equal portions, one for each morning and evening of the 
month, the thirtieth day being always read for the thirty- 
first as well. It is from the first authorized edition of the 
Great Bible, which was founded on Wickliffe and translated 
from St. Jerome. It is, therefore, " in Hebrew and Greek 
and Latin," as well as in English, having Hebrew divisions, 
from the Greek vernacular, through a Latin translation. 
It is printed after the Occasional Offices, at the end of the 
Prayer Book proper. 

This being a Prayer Book manual and not a Bible com- 
mentary, only a very brief analysis of the contents of the 
Psalter can be given. It is usually separated into five 
sections, each of which closes with a Doxology. The origi- 
nal Psalter, composed almost entirely by David, constitutes 
the first section (Ps. 1-41). The second, ascribed to David 
and the Levites, includes thirty-one more, ending with Ps. 
72. The third (Ps. 73-89) shows the work of other-authors, 
and was perhaps collected by Hezekiah. The Temple 
Liturgy constitutes the fourth section, mostly anonymous 
in authorship, and comprising Ps. 90-106. Many of these 
probably belong to a later date, as well as those of the 
fifth, which is generally ascribed to the period of the Res- 



THE PSALTER, CALENDAR AND LECTLONAR T. 7i 



toration from the Babylonian captivity. The latter (Ps. 
107-150) includes the Great Hallel, or Passover Hymn 
(113-118), the long 119th, and the Songs of Degrees (120- 
134) or goings up to the Temple after the Exile. 

The 14th and 53d Psalms are virtually the same, as are 
the 70th and the latter part of the 40th ; while the 108th re- 
peats most of the 57th and 60th. Several of them have the 
same caption in the Latin. Many of the Psalms are David's 
own personal history, and the extraordinary vicissitudes 
of his career adapt them wonderfully to the needs of all 
sorts and conditions of men. The 104th is a Psalm of 
nature, the 107th a Psalm of life, and the 78th, 105th and 
106th are Psalms of history. The 69th, 139th and 140th 
contain imprecatory or cursing clauses, which need to be 
read as viewing the speaker in the light merely of God's 
representative. The 136th is pure thanksgiving, and the 
84th dwells on the delights of public worship. Ps. 44 was 
written in time of national disaster, and Ps. 45 was written 
for Solomon's wedding, and is highly typical of the mar- 
riage of Christ and the Church ; hence it is one of the 
Proper Psalms for Christmas Day. 

Seven of the Psalms are called Penitential Nos 6, 32, 
38, 51, 102, 130 and 143. Seven are especially adapted to 
sick-beds : Nos. 23,27, 42, 91, 103, 121 and 139. The 4th, 
31st (first six verses), 91st and 134th are known as the 
Compline (or bed- time) Psalms, and form the Second 
Selection, often used at Evensong. The 119th is an acrostic, 
being in twenty -two sections of eight verses each, each sec- 
tion begun by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in consecutive 
order. Its subject is the reading of the Scriptures, and each 
verse but one (the 122d) has a reference to God's Word. As 



72 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



used in the Service, its sections are not interrupted by the 
Gloria, as it constitutes but a single Psalm. The 150th and 
last refers to the perfect praise of Heaven. Ten Psalms are 
distinctly and pointedly Messianic in their reference (Noe. 
2, 16, 22, 40, 41, 45, 69, 72, 110 and 118), a characteristic 
which pervades the whole Book to an astonishing degree. 

Moses, David and Solomon were all marked types of 
the Messiah, and Christ constantly quotes from the Psalms 
with such an application to Himself. His last act with 
His disciples, before He suffered, was to sing the Hallelu- 
jah Hymn of the Passover, as they went out to the Mount 
of Olives ; and He quoted from the 22d and 31st Psalms 
upon the Cross. In the New Testament, two-fifths of all 
the quotations from the Old are from the Psalms, and the 
Apostles at first looked to the Psalter for their written Gos- 
pel. "We apply the same principle in our Proper Psalms 
for special Days, and have increased the number of Days so 
emphasized from six (as in the English Book) to sixteen. 
Twenty Selections of Psalms are added, in groups or other- 
wise, which may, except on these Days, be substituted for 
the consecutive daily portions for the month, at the dis- 
cretion of the Minister. These may all be found immedi- 
ately preceding the Psalter, as well as among the prelim- 
inary Tables. Most of the Canticles are taken from the 
Psalter. 

The Psalms are not metrical, like modern poetry, but lyr- 
ical ; and are full of primitive parallelisms and recurrences 
of expression which conduce greatly to their universal use, 
and make them household words. They easily lend them- 
selves, however, to metrical versions, such as abound in 
hymnody. Unlike spiritual books of the older religions, 



THE PSALTER, CALENDAR AND LECTION ART. 73 



they never confuse God and nature, as do those of the 
Egyptians, which abound in witchcraft and like supersti- 
tions. Their application is as many-sided as human 
experience. They abound in historical reference and in 
moral teaching. They are lofty summaries of praise, and 
glow with prophetic allusions to the Christian Church. 
As solace to the spiritual life, they are invaluable ; and 
they served as a manual of prayer to Our Lord Himself. 
Some of their tones are adapted to private meditation, 
others to personal confession, and all to public praise. 

The LECTIONARY, or TABLES OF LESSONS FROM 
HOLY SCRIPTURE, forms a large part of the preliminary 
matter in the Prayer Book. The Lessons, or Lections, are 
read from the Lectern, the Minister facing the congregation, 
who sit for instruction from the Word. Lecterns are often 
made after the figure of an angel, or in the form of an eagle 
bearing the Bible on its outspread wings ; the eagle being the 
special symbol of St. John, the author of the last Gospel. 
The practice of reading the Scripture Lessons in worship 
is extremely ancient, and was followed by Our Lord Him- 
self in the synagogue. Christ is thus preached, even if 
there be no Sermon. The English rubric quaintly says, 
" shall be read distinctly with an audible voice, he that 
readeth so standing and turning himself as he may best 
be heard of all such as are present." It would be well if 
this rubric were always explicitly obeyed. In the First 
Book the Lessons were intoned, as also the Epistles and 
Gospels. There are two Lessons at each ordinary Service, 
the First always from the Old Testament, except rarely 
from the Apocrypha, and the Second invariably from the 
New; each always introduced and closed with a dignified 



74 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



announcement, but without comment, after the manner of 
the text itself 

Four separate tables are given; for Sundays, for the 
CALENDAR Holy-days, for days of special Fasting, and 
for daily use throughout the Year. The Lenten tables 
may be substituted at discretion for the ordinary Lessons 
at that season of the Year, and such a substitution is some- 
times a great gain. Blanks are left in the monthly Calen- 
dar for insertion of Proper Lessons at the immovable Feasts, 
and those for the movable ones supersede the ordinary 
assignment as they occur. If only one Service occur on a 
Sunday or Holy-day, a choice may be made between the 
Morning and Evening Lessons of that day. On any Sun- 
day evening the Gospel Lesson for the day of the month 
may be read instead of the Second Lesson ; and at Service 
on any day without Proper (or special) Lessons, any Les- 
sons of that calendar week may be used. And on days of 
special appointment, not prescribed by this Book, discre- 
tion remains with the Minister, who, in case of exigency, 
sometimes shortens the Service by the omission of the 
Old Testament Lesson and its succeeding Canticle. Greater 
and more systematic use is made of the Bible in public 
worship by the Church than by any other religious body. 

In private reading the Old Testament is read through 
in course once a year, and the New Testament twice. In 
the former the historical order is first observed, then the 
poetical and prophetical books in order, with a few selec- 
tions from the Apocrypha, reserving Isaiah, from its 
peculiar appropriateness, for the approach to the Christ- 
mas season. The only omissions are the Psalms, certain 
duplicated portions, and such, especially in the Penta- 



4 



THE PSALTER, CALENDAR AND LEGTIONARY. 75 



teuch, as are not specially edifying for general reading. 
The Second Lessons of the morning follow the New Testa- 
ment in course from St. Matthew to St. Jude, and those of 
the evening the same, except that the Acts and Epistles 
precede the Gospels in order; each set reserving the Reve- 
lation until the close of the year. 

The Sunday Lessons follow the order of the Christian 
Year. During the earlier half of the Year, the First Les- 
sons treat of prophecy and the Second Lessons narrate its 
fulfilment in the Gospels, adding the Epistles of St. Paul. 
In the latter half, Old Testament history is treated in the 
First Lessons, and the Acts, Gospels and General Epistles 
in the Second. All of the Proper Lessons may be harmo- 
nized with the tone of Epistle and Gospel. The English 
Tables are distinctly inferior to our own, having but few 
Proper Second Lessons for Sundays, those of the ordinary 
weekly Calendar being used; while greater employment is 
made of the Apocryphal books, which should be read 
only "for example of life and instruction of manners." 

The Canonical Books of the Hebrew Old Testament 
Scriptures were finally collected, it would seem, by the 
prophets Ezra and Nehemiah, under the three divisions of 
the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms, about 400 B. C. A 
hundred years later they were translated into Greek by 
the famous Council of Seventy at Alexandria, under the 
name of the Septuagint, which also included the Apocry- 
phal writings. The New Testament, begun by St. Peter 
and completed by St. John, undoubtedly became fixed in 
ordinary use and practice in the Christian Church soon 
after, although for generations there existed false epistles 
and disputations concerning the true. But the testimony 



76 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



of the early Christian Fathers shows the substantial integ- 
rity of the Canon as we have it now; and this Canon was 
formally and finally ratified by the authority of the Coun- 
cil of Carthage, 397 A. D. 

The original autographic manuscripts of the Bible 
perished many centuries ago. The older copies are known 
respectively as Uncials and Cursives, so called from their 
being written either all in capitals or in more flowing 
characters. The three Uncials most venerable of all, are 
carefully preserved in the great libraries and museums at 
St. Petersburgh, London and Rome, and are respectively 
known as the Sinaitic, Alexandrine and Vatican Codices 
(or manuscripts), so named from circumstances of their 
discovery or present home. They are Greek copies, and 
date from the fourth and fifth centuries. They are nearly 
complete as to contents, but are not divided at all by 
stops, or punctuated according to the sense. Indeed, 
chapters and verses are quite modern; the former dating 
from the thirteenth, and the latter only from the sixteenth 
century. The great Latin translation of the Bible is the 
Vulgate (i. e., common), made in the fourth century by St. 
Jerome, this being the first book ever printed with type. 
On it is based the Douay version in English (so called 
from the place of its translation in Belgium in the six- 
teenth century), which is the one authorized in the Church 
of Rome. The great translations into English are those 
of Wickliffe, Tyndale, Coverdale, Cranmer (or the Great 
Bible), the Genevan, the Bishops', and King James'; the 
latter being the present matchless Authorized Version, 
from the original tongues. The latest (Westminster) ver- 
sion was made in our own day, but is not in use in our 



THE PSALTER, CALENDAR AND LEGTIONART. 77 



Churches. The English Bible is the first ever rendered 
into the vernacular of any people, and this vigorous Anglo- 
Saxon influence has preserved our liturgy free from the 
infusion of many words of Latin origin. 

The wonderful continuity of thought and purpose 
which characterizes the varied contents of the Bible, be- 
ginning with oral traditions of the earth's infancy, cover- 
ing many hundred years of compilation and a vast num- 
ber of isolated authors, is one of its strongest claims to 
acceptance, from its human side. The leading truth of 
the Old Testament is the Unity of God, and His service, 
without the hope of immortality; combined with the cease- 
less expectation of a Messiah. The New Testament (at 
first also oral) is the history of that Saviour, and the rev- 
elation of the truths which grow out of His Incarnation. 
Immortality was revealed, but Heaven not described. 
Redemption was made for guilty man, and the Christian 
Church founded, at first in apparent failure, but with the 
power of Truth, " conquering and to conquer." The 
Apostolic Ministry now received its great Commission, its 
doctrines crystallized into a Creed, its Sacramental life began, 
and the Canon of Revelation was complete. 

The present is preeminently the age of criticism, and 
of the Bible most of all, as of the Book which reveals the 
Conqueror of sin. Bat this bane brings its own antidote. 
Attacks multiply commentaries, and our knowledge grows 
firmer. Observation and exploration at the East only 
confirm the historical and physical record. As assaults 
on the citadel of the New Testament weaken, those on the 
Old increase ; but high scholarship and pure faith are 
more than a match for the "higher criticism." Indeed, 



78 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



that criticism is valuable as a test of faith and a deepen- 
ing of true knowledge. Ideas broaden by study, and far 
less stress is laid on minor and non-essential elements. 
Inspiration has its divine and its human side. God's mes- 
sage flows through man's agency, though he be the organ 
of a higher Intelligence than his own. The literary styles 
of St. Paul and St. Matthew are widely divergent and each 
is more or less defective. Different men were inspired 
to record differing phases of Christian truth in the Gos- 
pels. The chronological record indeed bears some marks 
of human origin and therefore of fallibility. There are 
doubtless errors of transcription, translation, interpreta- 
tion, nor is it strange to find literary and textual elements 
still unexplained or obscure ; for copyists and editors are 
uninspired. 

Yet the Scriptures are scarcely more in need of such 
explanation and comment as may clear the plain sense, 
than is much of profane and accepted modern literature 
The twin handmaidens, science and revelation, have never 
been found in discord ; as indeed they cannot be from the 
very nature of their respective and diverse spheres of 
operation. Both the scientific and spiritual truths of 
revelation are taught in imagery ; not in technically accu- 
rate scientific phrase, whether in the domain of physics 
or ethics No doubt there are many small variations in 
the manuscripts known to scholars, yet the great truths of 
life and the lessons from Heaven do not conflict. The 
Bible, though not in some sense scientific in its present- 
ment, is still less anti-scientific. One jot or one tittle shall 
not fail from the written Word. 

But the WORD of God is His Son. The Living Word 



THE PSALTER, CALENDAR AND LECTION AR Y. 79 



is greater than the written ; we should worship not the 
Bible, but Christ. Christianity is founded not on a Book, 
but on a Person ; and the difference is as great as between 
the written and unwritten constitutions of men. He lives 
in His Church, which is indefectible and cannot fail. 
Many Christians fall into the error of Bibliolatry, or wor- 
ship of the Bible, and this is the surest way to convict it 
of radical error. 

" Christianity has conquered the world not so much by 
its words as by its works. It is Christ's works that bear 
Him witness ; they testify of Him. He gave no com- 
mandment to His disciples to write. Till it is proved 
that in the New Testament we have a fixed rule for the 
guidance of the Church in all particulars, and that the 
Apostles have made an authoritative statement of all which 
they received during the great Forty Days, the appeal to 
the letter of Holy Scripture as if it contained all they 
taught and practised cannot be admitted." 

Its main purpose was not to manifest verbal uniformi- 
ty, chronological accuracy, or even scientific facts, but the 
way to Heaven. Its words were adapted to the understand- 
ing of those to whom they were first addressed ; they are 
adapted to us. But they are to be expounded by the 
Church, which wrote them by the power of the Holy 
Ghost ; the Church which has discriminated between a 
true and a false revelation ; the Church which is the per- 
petual Witness and Keeper of Holy Writ. 



IX. 



THE TE DEUM AND CANTICLES. 

" Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy glory." — 
The Te Deum. 

" The Day-spring from on high hath visited us; to give 
light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death: 
and to guide our feet into the way of peace."— The Benedic- 
tus. 

HE English Book says of the TE DEUM LAUDAMUS, 



which follows the First Lesson, that it shall be said 
or sung " in English, daily." The First Book says, " except 
in Lent, when shall be used Benedicite." The latter is our 
custom, though not specifically prescribed ; the Benedicite 
being the succeeding Canticle, and less associated with 
lofty accents of thanksgiving. The Te Deum is here called 
a Hymn ; and it is indeed the most exalted and stupen- 
dous of all hymns of praise. For centuries it has been 
the crowning feature of coronation services, at thanksgiv- 
ings for national blessings and on other jubilee occasions, 
and to it have been wedded some of earth's sublimest 
music. The most ancient Christian music known is the 
"Ambrosian Te Deum," written in 487 A. D. 

To ears accustomed to such inspired strains as this, 
very much of modern popular hymnody is a weariness, if • 
not an impertinence. Milton does not rival it in Paradise 
Lost, or Dante in the Divine Comedy. It is to Western 
Christendom what the Gloria in Excelsis is to the Eastern 




80 



THE TE BE JIM AND CANTICLES. 



81 



Church, and has been sung every morning from time im- 
memorial. Its origin and authorship are dim. There is 
a legend of its joint improvisation by St. Ambrose and 
St. Augustine responsively, at the baptism of the latter at 
Milan, on Easter Even, 386 A. D.; but its material was 
probably gathered from many sources, and it was perhaps 
a growth, like a liturgy. It is not taken from the Jewish 
Church, like the Psalter and many Canticles, but is purely 
a Christian hymn. It was first written in Latin, much of 
its matter originating before 250 A. D., and has preserved 
its present form since the fourth century. 

"As the Nicene Creed is indirectly a hymn, so is the 
Te Deum indirectly a Creed," for it is most doctrinally 
phrased. It is natural for us to express our belief in 
words of praise, when that belief is rooted deep in our 
spiritual natures. And this Hymn is indeed praise, creed 
and prayer, arranged in this order: the first portion being 
addressed mainly to God the Father, and the second to God 
the Son, while God the Holy Ghost is distinctly recog- 
nized. Some have thought it addressed to Christ as God 
("We praise Thee as God"), but the Latin is a double 
accusative, an ascription of Deity to God the Father. It is 
naturally divisible into several parts. 

The first six verses are an offering of praise to the 
Father Almighty, from earth and heaven. The word Lord 
is the self-existent and eternal Name, known to the Jews 
as Jehovah. Coupled with our own worship, as of " earth," 
is that of the heavenly host, who are here spoken of as 
"Angels, Heavens, Powers, Cherubim and Seraphim," indi- 
cating their gradations. Scripture has much to tell us of 
the ministry and office of angels, though but little of their 



82 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



nature. They are a distinct order of beings from us, and 
are often styled "spirits," having no perishable body. 
They are not necessarily incorporeal, but seem to possess 
a spiritual body, such as Our Lord's after His resurrection. 
Christians can never become angels, as a loose theology 
would teach ; but shall be like them, and indeed unworth- 
ily possess a yet greater dignity, in that for us Christ died. 
They are capable of temptation, as the greatest of them fell ; 
by what sin we know not, but probably pride or ambition. 
Often in the Old Testament " the angel " is the Son of God, 
appearing in angelic guise ; a foreshadowing of the Incar- 
nation. After Christ's coming angelic appearances (as if 
they might be worshipped), became fewer and then ceased, 
until their accompaniment of Him at His return in the 
latter day. 

In Heaven their office is ceaseless praise and service. 
In many ways they minister to men, especially to those 
" who shall be heirs of salvation." They do not lose per- 
sonality because invisible to us, and are always about our 
pathway. This is more than hinted in the case of chil- 
dren, who are spoken of as having "their " (own guardian) 
angels. They are referred to as agents of the Almighty, 
through whom He works such natural operations as we 
ascribe to air, fire, pestilence and death. A destroying 
angel visited the Egyptians when the Israelites were 
" passed over." They have names, not so much personal 
as denoting an office, as Micha-el, Gabri-el, (compounded 
with the name of Deity), Satan, etc. Both good and evil 
angels are called " princes," and some seem to be set over 
nations. Gabriel is sent on benign errands to men, and 
Michael, the archangel, fights God's battles. 



THE TE DEUM AND CANTICLES. 



83 



Cherubim are symbolized by winged figures, and appar- 
ently had a protective office in Eden over the Tree of Life, 
and over the Ark of the Hebrew Covenant. Seraphim are 
represented by Isaiah as having six wings, with two of 
which they veil their faces. Angelic ranks and numbers 
are beyond computation ; their name is legion. In the 
Book of Revelation, the Bishops of the Asian Churches are 
called " Angels, 1 ' or messengers, as the word signifies. The 
fifth and sixth verses are the Angelic hymn of Isaiah's 
vision. The Hebrew word "Sabaoth" means hosts or 
armies ; or, in its import, all rational beings. 

The seven succeeding verses vary the note of praise to 
a Christian harmony, sung by Apostles, Prophets, Martyrs, 
and the whole Catholic Church throughout the world, to 
the Blessed Trinity. The ascription becomes individual 
to each Person, in the last three verses of this section. A 
better rendering of the word "noble" would be "white- 
robed" (candidatus), or martyrs " having washed their robes 
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." In the 
English Book the Son is addressed as " honourable " in- 
stead of "adorable." Thus the Old and New Dispensa- 
tions join, and the Church Militant unites with the New 
Jerusalem above in worshipping the Three Persons in the 
Godhead. 

Here enters a distinct change of address, and God the 
Son, in the remaining verses, receives the praises and pray- 
ers of the faithful, and first for the blessings of the Incar- 
nation. Beginning with "Thou art the King of Glory," 
Christ's Royalty, Sonship, Passion, Resurrection, Ascen- 
sion, Session and Judgment are consecutively dwelt on. In 
the sixteenth verse, for "Thou didst humble Thyself," etc., 



84 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



the English Book reads, " Thou didst not abhor the Virgin's 
womb;" and the first clause would probably be better 
translated, " When Thou tookest upon Thee the nature of 
man to deliver us." In the nineteenth, His Second Advent 
as Judge, as said by the angels at the Ascension, is consid- 
ered as the complement to the First. The whole section 
constitutes a Creed of Christ, very like the Apostles' Creed, 
which is a recital of facts, and not of speculative dogma. 

The last division is a prayer to God in Christ. First, 
for the whole Church of the redeemed, for His servants, 
His people, His heritage, whom He is petitioned to save, to 
bless, to govern, to uplift. "Make them to be numbered " 
should probably read "rewarded ;" munerari for numerari. 
After the burst of thanksgiving, " Day by Day," etc., the 
close of the Prayer is for ourselves ; "Vouchsafe," etc., as 
in the Lord's Prayer. The last verse but one has, in the 
English Book, " lighten upon us ;" the conclusion is an 
outburst of confidence, and should read, "I shall never be 
confounded (confundar)." The close is as well suited to 
the Church Militant as the beginning is to the Church 
Triumphant. The whole is a peculiarly appropriate con- 
necting link between the Old and New Testament Lessons. 
It is not followed by the Gloria ; it is itself a greater 
Gloria. 

The alternative Canticle, called the BENEDICITE, was 

first used in the Jewish synagogue worship, and St. 
Chrysostom calls it "that admirable and marvellous 
song." It is a paraphrase of the 148th Psalm, and is also 
the Song of the Three Holy Children in the fiery furnace, 
as given in the Apocrypha, and also in the Septuagint 
version of the prophet Daniel, probably in Cranmer's 



THE TE DEUM AND CANTICLES. 



85 



translation. It may be used at any time, but Lent and 
Advent are especially appropriate, and Trinity Sunday as 
well, when the First Morning Lesson is the story of the 
Creation. It is also used on Thanksgiving Day, because 
it summons material things to praise the Lord. As com- 
posed and sung in the fiery furnace, it may be said to 
befit times of affliction ; at all events, it brings into con- 
trast our own shortcomings with the praise of even irra- 
tional and inanimate creation. Its idea is very simple, 
though elaborating in great detail, and with a constantly 
recurring refrain, the praise of the Creator. 

It has four parts. Great natural powers and forces are 
summoned in the first ten verses ; angels being named as 
God's ministers. The " Heavens " are the firmament, and 
the " Waters " above it the clouds. As in Isaiah the 
mountains are called " my mountains," so here the winds 
are styled " winds of God." With " Winter and Sum- 
mer," through seven verses we address all the phenomena 
and changes through which Nature passes, such as the 
varying seasons, day and night, and even the moods in 
which she appears. In the third division the Earth is 
called upon to join, with all its wealth of animal and 
vegetable life. " Wells," to us a strange juxtaposition 
here, were a great need and a well-known object in the 
Hebrew life of the desert. " Beasts and cattle " divides 
animals into wild and tame. Lastly, thanksgiving is 
enjoined on all mankind, ancient Israel, God's priests and 
His servants, the righteous living and dead, men of " holy 
and humble " heart. Responsive use brings out a recipro- 
cal call from Servants to Priest, and from Priest to Servants. 
The English Book has a thirty-second and final verse, "0 



86 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



Ananias, Azarias and Misael," the Hebrew names of the 
" three children," Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. As 
a whole, it is to be followed by the Gloria. 

After the Second, or New Testament Lesson, comes the 
Gospel Hymn BENEDICTUS, or the song of Zacharias at 
the Circumcision of St. John Baptist, as given by St. 
Luke, probably from Cranmer's version. It appears in 
full, though the last eight verses may be omitted, except 
in Advent to which it is particularly appropriate. It has 
been used since the sixth century, and was originally 
the only Canticle after the Second Lesson. It is the last 
of the Old Testament prophecies and the first of the New. 
The English rubric directs its omission when it occurs 
in the Lesson for the Day, or on St. John Baptist's Day, 
when it forms part of the Gospel. As a thanksgiving to 
God for the Incarnation, almost every phrase has its 
counterpart in Psalm or Prophecy. Its first eight verses 
look back over the history of Israel, and recount the 
mercies of Jehovah. The last four are a prophetic charge 
to the forerunner of Christ, who is called the Day-spring, 
giving light and peace. 

The JUBILATE, or the Hundredth Psalm, so familiar 
in metre, follows as an alternate ; a favorite song of both 
Churchmen and Sectarians since the Reformation. It is 
the last of the Royal Liturgical Psalms of the Temple Ser- 
vice ; a joyful anthem of praise to the Good Shepherd, 
everlasting in mercy from generation to generation. It 
has no direct Gospel reference. Its use is preferable for 
the Trinity season. It has been in the Prayer Book since 
1552. The Service of Praise in Morning Prayer ends here. 



X. 



THE CREEDS. 



"Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salva- 
tion : so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be 
proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it 
should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought 
requisite or necessary to salvation.'''' — The Sixth Article of 
Religion. 

'HE culmination of the Daily Service is THE CREED. 



From the beginning of the Office a logical and har- 
monious sequence of liturgical observance is sustained, 
leading the soul upward from the penitential attitude 
suitable to its entrance on the public worship of Almighty, 
God, through Absolution, responsive Praise and the hear- 
ing of God's Word in both Testaments, till the climax is 
reached in the public profession of the Christian Faith by 
the congregation, led by their Minister. There is no 
grander sight than this standing protestation of our alle- 
giance to our Leader and Saviour Christ, and of our unity 
with the great host, who in all ages, climes and circum- 
stances, have professed the same undying faith of the 
Universal Church. It ought to be felt and recited as a 
personal war-cry in our mortal combat with the world, 
the flesh and the devil. 

" Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of 
God." Having heard the Word, we now profess our faith 




87 



88 THE CHURCH IN THE PR AY EM BOOK. 



in it, thus a receiving it into honest and good hearts " in 
such a manner as should " bring forth fruit with patience." 
The Lessons are thus summarized in the Creeds, which 
therefore fitly close the third section of the Service. These 
Creeds are the u form of sound words " which St. Paul 
bade Timothy hold fast, and are simple recitals of facts, 
without any admixture of purely speculative dogma. 
They comprise "the faith once for all delivered to the 
saints," and are incapable of being added to or subtracted 
from, as matters of vital belief. They each start from the 
same central germ, and are paraphrases and expansions of 
the Baptismal Formula given by our Lord Himself, just 
as the Communion Office is an expansion of the original 
Words of Institution. Indeed, the reason for the inser- 
tion of the Baptismal Office after the Second Lesson, when 
occasion requires, is that such Baptism shall be imme- 
diately followed by the Articles of our Belief. 

He who believes in Father, Son and Holy Ghost 
believes these Creeds. Each of them teaches the doctrines 
of the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the 
gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Church. Although deriving 
some of their claims from human testimony, they still 
recite truths which are in no wise dependent for their 
existence upon human assent ; as the truth that " fire 
burns " is not impaired by a child's unwise use of this 
knowledge. They are not elaborated definitions, as are the 
Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, which are indeed pre- 
served in our Prayer Book, but concern only the Clergy, 
and are assented to by them in their general promise of 
conformity to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the 
Church. The latter are theological definitions, more or less 



THE CREEDS. 



89 



scholastic, set forth by a State Church after the Reforma- 
tion, and. are still required to be signed by the English 
Clergy. Strictly speaking, " faith " and " doctrine " are 
not synonymous ; the latter being an expansion and elab- 
oration of the former, and capable of restatement by a 
National Church. 

A form of Creed has been held as vital from the very 
first, as a defense against heretical doctrines, and its recita- 
tion in Divine Service is extremely ancient. It can be 
traced in England for at least three hundred years before 
the Norman Conquest. The original significance of the 
word heretic is a " chooser," i. e., a rebel against authority. 
The early heresies were purely theological, and mainly 
regarded the Person of Christ and the nature of His work 
in the human heart. Heresies now, and the schisms (or 
separations) into which they have grown, are rather ecclesi- 
astical, and chiefly concern forms of Church government, 
which is a momentous gain. Where divisions now exist 
in Christendom, they turn rather upon the interpretation 
than upon the acceptance of a Creed. The word Creed is 
from the Latin credo, " I believe," with which it begins. 
The Greek form is " We believe," which expresses the truth 
of community between Christians, whereas the Latin 
emphasizes the element of personality ; while in either 
case there is recognized as a part of our natures the neces- 
sity of a definite belief. 

The English rubrical direction is that it "shall be 
(ordinarily) sung or said ; " in the former case in a musical 
monotone. In the First Book it was preceded as well as 
followed by Versicles. The posture is " standing," as the 
proper attitude of testimony and determination to main- 



90 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



tain. Two customs obtain in connection with this post- 
ure. That of bowing the head at the human Name of 
Jesus, which was borne upon the Cross, in acknowledg- 
ment of His divinity and in token of our recognition of 
His supreme humiliation for us in the history of His In- 
carnation, has prevailed from very early times, and is even 
enjoined by canon in the Church of England. The Cross, 
once the badge of shame, has been turned into the symbol 
of glory. A previous mention, in connection with the 
Gloria Patri, has been made of the " Eastward position " or 
" Orientation," generally assumed throughout the Creed by 
Minister and Choir as well as people, and from very ancient 
times. To all Greek and Latin Christianity " the East 99 
was Jerusalem, the mother of us all. Thence the early 
Church expected Christ " the Day-spring from on high," to 
reappear ; and to this day the dead are buried with the 
feet thitherward, so that in rising, His first appearance 
may be seen — a custom which, with many, Jias survived 
the very memory of its origin. What more natural 
than that Chancels should, constructively if not in fact, be 
eastward ; and that, as the Jews faced the Hebrew mercy- 
seat, Christians should face the Christian Altar, at this 
most solemn portion of the Service ? 

The American Church has two Creeds, the Apostles' and 
the Nicene, identical in substance, but differing in mode 
of expression. At this point the English Book has the 
Apostles' Creed alone, and our words, " Or this," prefacing 
the Nicsne Creed in this place, appear, unfortunately, a 
standing slight to that most solemn Symbol. Our usage 
here is alternative between the two : but the latter, as a 
fuller statement of the truths of the Incarnation, is prefer- 



THE CREEDS. 



91 



ably used, when the succeeding Service is to be that of the 
Holy Communion. Indeed, its use is made obligatory by 
a rubric in the Communion Office, on Christmas, Easter, 
Ascension, Whitsunday and Trinity Sunday, the five 
great Festivals. In addition to these two, the English 
Church has a third, the Athanasian; so called in memory 
of St. Athanasius, the great African Bishop of the early 
Church, whose protest and defense at Nicea, when only a 
Deacon and almost alone against the heretic Arius is here 
embalmed. It is rather a hymn in explicit exposition of 
the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and of the two Natures 
of Christ, and stands by itself in the English Book, be- 
tween the Evening Prayer and the Litany ; its use being 
obligatory at Morning Prayer at twelve great Feasts and 
Festivals which occur, one in each month of the year, and 
also on Trinity Sunday. It contains nothing repugnant to 
the sense of the other Creeds, though much fuller in its 
definitions than either ; yet it was never ratified by a Gen- 
eral Council, as were they. 

It is sometimes called the "Quicunque vult" from the 
Latin words with which it opens ; and contains certain 
damnatory, or more truly, minatory (or warning) clauses, 
which to many are " a hard saying," though a thoughtful 
consideration will remove such fears. We are told in Holy 
Scripture that " without faith it is impossible to please 
God," and that we " must believe that He is." This dis- 
tinctly implies a form of Creed, and St. Augustine says 
truly : " Not only is a good life inseparable from Faith, 
but Faith itself is a good life." No one is required to grasp 
with the true scientific method facts of theological dogma 
beyond his capacity so to reach ; but the exercise of an 



92 THE CHURCH IK THE PRAYER BOOK. 



humble faith is persistently enjoined as of the very essence 
of salvation. 

On the other hand, this Creed is an emphatic contradic- 
tion of the shallow popular notion that it is indifferent 
what our belief may be, provided it is sincere. The 
expressions " will be saved," " cannot be saved," with 
which it begins and ends, should be rather understood as 
in the way of being saved, or in a state of salvation. The 
words " except every one do keep whole and undefined, 
without doubt he shall perish," cannot, moreover, be held 
to apply to cases of ignorance of so great salvation, unless 
such ignorance become neglect as the result of self-will. 
The Convocation of Canterbury, as late as 1879, officially 
declared that "the Church doth not herein pronounce 
judgment on any particular person or persons, God alone 
being the Judge of all." 

In considering the substance of the two Creeds, they 
will be taken together, as each sheds light on the other. 
The Apostles and the Nicene are each printed in three sec- 
tions, which relate severally to the Three Persons in the 
Holy Trinity ; and each section has distinct clauses, some 
simple, others modified, as indicated most carefully by the 
punctuation. Of these independent clauses, separated by 
colons and periods, there are twelve, the number of the 
Twelve Apostles ; of whom there is a pleasant legend, 
whether founded on fact or otherwise, that each contribu- 
ted one in its original form. There is nothing in the 
Apostles' Creed which is not to be found in the Book of 
the Acts ; and, as Blunt says, there is probably as much 
reason to suppose that it was composed by inspiration of 
the Holy Ghost before the separation of the Apostle3, as 



THE GREEDS. 



93 



to the contrary. This is the Christian ' Creed in its very 
simplest form, and it grew up freely. As has been well 
said, " It is to Holy Scripture what grammar is to litera- 
ture." 

Its substance is the Church's only requisite in Baptism, 
it is taught diligently in the Catechism of the young, used 
daily in the Services, and taken as a test of faith in the 
dying. It contains the absolute essentials of Christianity. 
It may be called peculiarly the Creed of the Western or 
Latin Church, as the Nicene is of the Eastern, and is trace- 
able from very early times in the writings of the immediate 
successors of the Apostles, as Irenssus, Tertullian and Cyp- 
rian. Mainly, however, it was preserved in oral form in 
Greek, and does not appear in the written Latin until 390 
A. D. After the Apostles' death, the lack of strict accuracy 
in its transmission, and the rise of numerous heresies and 
denials of its various articles, caused expansions of its form 
in different localities as the infant Church grew and spread 
outward ; so that variations arose in Jerusalem, Rome, 
Antioch, and other centres. These were the days of dread- 
ful persecution by the Roman power, but the Church grad- 
ually won its way by the power of the Holy Ghost, through 
the pure lives and holy martyrdoms of its members, until 
at last the Emperor Constantine became himself converted 
to Christianity and made it the religion of the Empire. 

By his order was summoned in 325 A D., at Nicea, in 
Asia Minor, the First General or Ecumenical Council of 
all the Bishops of Christendom, for the purpose of a more 
extended and explicit definition and formulation of the 
Christian Faith, as a defense against the philosophical 
heresies then so rife. Three hundred and eighteen Bishops 



94 



THE CHURCH IN THE P MATER BOOK. 



assembled, representing the entire Christian world (among 
them perhaps Bishops from Britain, already a National 
Church), and formally set forth the Nicene Creed, so named 
from its birthplace. It was afterward reasserted and 
rounded out at the Second General Council, held in 381 
A. D. at Constantinople, at which time was added all after 
the words " Holy Ghost." 1 The other undisputed General 
Councils, making six in all, are those held soon after, in 
the early and undivided days of the Christian Church, 
mainly for the condemnation of heretical doctrines, i. e. f 
that of Ephesus, 431 A. D. ; of Chalcedon, 451 A. D.; the 
second of Constantinople, 553 A. D.; and the third of Con- 
stantinople, 680 A. D. 

Concerning their decisions in matters of faith and prac- 
tice no doubt or variation existed for many centuries, and 
the Church to-day holds and tolerates no doctrines which 
are not in harmony therewith ; the work of the Anglican 
Reformation being a casting -off of corruptions and a return 
to pure and primitive Apostolic Christianity. The Nicene 
Creed is the formal expression of the Catholic Faith, set 
forth by and for the whole, and so received for a thousand 
years, without modification or enlargement. It is founded 
on the most sure warrant of Holy Scripture, as interpreted 
by " the Church of the living God, the Pillar and Ground 
of the Truth," and may be termed the Creed of Intercom- 
munion. Beyond this, a Creed is not progressive nor 
developed, like a liturgy. By this is meant that while the 
Nicene Creed does not explicitly name all points concern- 
ing which adhesion is vital, e. the authority of Scrip- 
ture and the necessity of the Sacraments, still there is 
implicitly contained therein everything which is of faith. 



THE CREEDS. 



95 



Attempts have been made by parts of Protestantism in 
recent times to formulate new Creeds, as dependent on 
the assent of human minds ; but the Christian Faith is 
not the product of private judgment. Rome has used a 
so-called power of development in matters of faith ; and 
under cloak of this has added many articles which are in 
no way provable from Holy Scripture. 

In connection with these thoughts we cannot do better 
than to cite substantially thoughts already admirably ex- 
pressed by another. " The Church is fixed in her organic 
structure, but elastic in matters of individual opinion. 
She is not theorizing, but intensely practical. She be- 
lieves that, as she is an ordinance for all men, her condi- 
tions should be very simple and none except those which 
Christ Himself has fixed ; and therefore she has for her 
membership no detailed Articles or Confessions of Faith 
and protests against any authority which imposes exhaust- 
ive formularies. Her terms of admission are repentance, 
belief in the Apostles' Creed, and a promise to lead a godly 
life — no more. Thenceforward all varying opinions, though 
not encouraged, are allowed in matters non-essential ; 
concerning some of these she professes no opinion what- 
ever of her own." In many matters of dogma she is 
not careful to present a theory, realizing that many great 
truths have counter truths, which must be equally held by 
Christ's followers ; and often " in a figure," since divine 
mysteries are not penetrable to merely finite gaze. " The 
result cannot but be success, illustrated well in secular 
afiairs by the growth of an unfettered republic, wherein 
all manner of theorists exist in harmony. But <there 
must be a limitation here as there ; and here it exists 



00 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



in the refusal to admit Roman additions on the one hand, 
or Protestant denials of Christ's divinity or of her own 
Orders on the other. 

" She has also her Creed of organization as well as of doc- 
trine, and this is the Episcopate, which has been proven 
by the history of the Christian era to be the only tie which 
holds. All other governments crumble and perish. The 
Church is the only Society for all time and space; she 
binds the generations in a common brotherhood, and her 
life is continuous and unbroken . Rome offers the bond of 
Papal authority, and Protestantism the bond of mere dogma ; 
while the Church presents the tactual succession of living 
men, believing that the abiding presence of the Holy 
Spirit is promised only through human personalities. The 
acceptance of this truth is entirely consistent with indi- 
vidual theories of its mode of working. All that is re^ 
quired is a belief that it is and ought to be. 

"As the facts about Christ constitute our doctrinal Creed, 
so the facts about His Church are our unwritten ecclesiastical 
Creed. And therefore the Bible, as summed up in the Creed 
of Christ, together with the Sacraments given through the 
Episcopate to the Church of Christ, constitute our proffered 
basis of Christian Unity." Consistent and zealous Church- 
men, too conscious of our blessings not to be eager to share 
them, are the most anxious for such an unity ; but it must 
be a real unity ; an organic union, not a mere platform con- 
federation, productive of no result but professions of good- 
will, and in itself a rope of sand. The weakness and 
worthlessness of the original Confederation of American 
States, without a central and controlling constitutional 
bond, is a clear case in point. 



THE CREEDS. 



97 



Our position is something, or it is nothing. If it be 
historically secure, candid members of other communions, 
our friends, neighbours, kinsmen according to the flesh, will 
offer the tribute of added respect for a consistency which 
is always a jewel. God forbid, however, that such privi- 
leges as we have inherited, and a birthright which on 
that account entitles us to no personal credit, should be a 
ground of boasting. Such gifts only add to our responsi- 
bility, and withal compel us none the less to recognize, 
and if need be, appropriate, what, in the working of other 
systems, may be superior to and not inconsistent with 
our own. Not in minimizing our own essential deposit 
of Faith and Order, but in magnifying and coalescing upon 
all fruitful points of agreement with others, should lie 
our best hope of final reunion with them. 

There are varying shades of Churchmanship in our 
communion, but they are schools of thought, not parties. 
Familiar phraseology terms their adherents Advanced 
Churchmen, Broad Churchmen, Low Churchmen, High 
Churchmen, Evangelicals, Ritualists, etc. To different 
habits of thought and constitutional or inherited tenden- 
cies, the presentment of the Church's claims will come 
with varying force and persuasiveness, as regards the pre- 
cise import of her Sacraments, her Orders, her symbolism, 
her attitude toward the life and thought of the age. But 
our Mother, the Church, is wise and loving enough to em- 
brace them all, Catholic enough to combine evangelic Truth 
with Apostolic order; and to be a Prayer Booh Churchman is 
to name a watchword recognized and welcomed everywhere 
within her pale as the slogan of brotherly love. Amid the 
tumult of religious discord around us, the pure and ancient 

(7) 



98 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Faith of the fathers is the only hope of concord apparent; 
the only rallying point and nucleus of a visible reunion. 
That such a consummation is before us none can doubt 
who believe in the realization of the prayer of our common 
Master and Lord. 

When and how it will prevail none can know, but 
surely the Spirit of God is moving upon the face of the 
waters. Premature, spasmodic, irregular action must be 
deprecated, because its ultimate effect is to retard the very 
cause most dear to us all. No step may be taken which 
tends to invalidate the priceless intercommunion already 
shared with that world-wide and historic body represented 
at Lambeth by the venerable See of Canterbury, through 
whom all English-speaking Christians of every name 
derive their original birthright. Though just now, appar- 
ently for a time, forced to "stand in closed ranks and await 
orders from above," let us not forget the wonders which 
God hath already wrought for His Church in so brief a 
space in this cosmopolitan Western World, the destined 
theatre of mighty results, divinely preserved from Spanish 
domination for Anglican Christianity, and take good heart 
and hope from thence. And above all let us never cease to 
pray for the speedy advent of that brighter day when 
"there shall be One Fold and One Shepherd." 



XI. 



THE CREEDS. 

"The Nicene Greed, and that which is commonly called 
the Apostles' Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and be- 
lieved : for they may be proved by most certain warrants of 
Holy Scripture" — The Eighth Article of Religion. 

TTPPRO ACHING with reverence these august Symbols 
of our Faith, there is evident, after the first note of 
personal responsibility, the thought of worship, the ine- 
radicable instinct of every soul in connection with relig- 
ious belief ; the very word " worship" is used in the Ath- 
anasian. To proceed with the analysis of each of their 
twelve clauses separately : 

(1) I believe — i. e., with the assent of reason and 
will. In one Cod — the assertion of religion as such, and 
of One uncreated, self-existent Jehovah. The Father — 
of His uncreated but only-begotten Son, and of ourselves 
both by creation and redemption. Almighty, — an om- 
nipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Providence. Maker — 
of all original matter, and its Disposer in whatever man- 
ner He wills. Such a belief is by no means inconsistent 
with the theory of Evolution, which is an even greater evi- 
dence of the work of that Creator who is the Power and 
Potency of all reproduction and development. Of heaven 
— all that has originally occupied space beyond the earth, 
And earth, — everything organic and inorganic in this 

99 



100 



THE CHURCH AY THE PRAYER BOOK. 



world. And of all things visible and invisible: — denot- 
ing spiritual as well as physical existences. 

(2) And in one Lord — of all by nature, of the Church 
by redemption. Jesus — i. e., the Greek form of the Hebrew 
Joshua ; His human Name, meaning Saviour. Christ, — 
i. e., Anointed ; the Messiah, the anointed Prophet, Priest 
and King. The only- begotten Son of Cod ; — thus there 
is but one Sonship. Begotten of his Father before all 
worlds, — -or rather " ages "; the Eternal Son of the Eternal 
Father. Cod of Cod, Light of Light, very Cod of very 
Cod ; — i. 6., Light " out of" or " coming from " Light, true 
God " out of" true God, etc. 41 Begotten, not made;" — 
the mode is inexplicable, and the phraseology adapted to 
finite understandings. Being of one substance with 
the Father; — the words u of one substance" are, in the 
Greek language in which the Nicene Creed was written, 
" ftorao-ousios." Arius, the heretic, would have had it 
" ftomoi-ousios," meaning " of like substance," and the 
greatest controversy of the First General Council, in which 
Athanasius was the champion of the true Faith, raged 
around the casting out of the little Greek vowel " iota," 
which made all the difference between truth and error ; 
a controversy which still afflicts some parts of the Chris- 
tian world, in the denial of the Divinity of Our Lord. 
By whom all things were made: — imperfectly and 
reverently speaking, as though the Father were the Archi- 
tect, working through the Son who is the Builder, and 
both in absolute unity of act. Expressions in the first 
chapter of Genesis reveal this Oneness, which is further 
expanded in the first chapter of the Epistle to the He- 
brews. 



THE UHEEDS. 



101 



For the sake of clearness in bringing together the Per- 
sons of the Holy Trinity, we now pass to the third general 
division of the Creed, in which we say : (3) And I be- 
lieve in the Holy Ghost, — the third Person in the God- 
head, the Paraclete, the Comforter, through Whom Christ 
rules in the Church, and by Whom is dispensed the grace 
which He has purchased with His own blood. The Lord, 
and Giver of Life, — L e., the Lord, and the Life-giver, 
Whose influence quickens and vivifies ; not the Lord of 
Life, who is Jesus Christ, the Conqueror of Death. Who 
proceedeth from the Father and the Son, — a Person, 
not an influence ; not begotten, but proceeding, a present 
and perpetual act. This doctrine, inexplicable to mortal 
comprehension, is called the Procession of the Holy Ghost. 
The words " and the Son," or " Filioque " in the Latin, 
form no part of the original Nicene Creed. They were 
inserted by the Western or Latin Church in the time of 
Charlemagne, and have never to this day been accepted in 
this formulary by the Greek Church. It is an ancient 
and irreconcilable point of divergence. The truth itself 
is not challenged ; Christ Himself says, "I will send him 
unto you." But the denial is made of the right of any, 
short of a General Council, to formally insert a clause in 
the established Symbol. Who with the Father and the 
Son together is worshipped and glorified; — His special 
acknowledgment as a member of the Holy Trinity. Who 
spake by the Prophets: — i. e., either of the Old or New 
Testaments, and whether truth comes through men or 
angel messengers. Inspiration is the direct work of 
the Holy Ghost, even in this present time ; and the office 
of foretelling future events was but one branch of the pro- 



102 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



phetic office, which in these latter days is limited to the 
functions of preaching and proclaiming the Word. 

The Athanasian Creed attempts no undue explanation 
of the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity, but carefully guards 
it by saying, " Neither confounding the Persons, nor divid- 
ing the Substance." It also with great minuteness names 
the general qualities of the Godhead, common to them all, 
as Infinity, Eternity, Omnipotence, Deity and Lordship ; 
and then assigns to the Three their distinct and differing at- 
tributes, and the order in which they are to be approached 
in our finite thoughts, thus : u The Father is made of none ; 
the Son is of the Father alone : the Holy Ghost is of the 
Father and of the Son." Either may properly be addressed 
in prayer or thanksgiving, and the work of our salvation is 
the joint operation of the Blessed Three. 

Having now considered the Mystery of the Holy Trin- 
ity and those truths which are exterior to man, we return to 
complete the second section, which proceeds with the Mys- 
teries of the Incarnation and of Redemption. We come 
next to the exposition of the Two Natures of Our Lord, and 
of His special redemptive work for mankind. Man had 
sinned, and of his own free will forfeited his first estate of 
innocence ; and in love for fallen man, God, in the fulness of 
time, sent His Son, Jesus Christ, (4) Who for us men and 
for our salvation came down from heaven, — of His own 
will. And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost — a mysteri- 
ous and unintelligible operation, miraculously superseding 
the law of nature. Of the Virgin Mary, — a holy maiden 
and pure virgin, not a wife. Jesus was thus free from the 
taint of our mortal nature, derived from one common origin, 
and transmitted by course of heredity from father to son. 



THE CREEDS. 



103 



And was made man : — i. e., was incarnate^ " in the flesh." 
He was (not merely " a man," but) " Man," in its fullest 
sense. His Divinity assumed and bore our human nature, 
yet without sin, through infancy, childhood and manhood 
to maturity, for one complete generation of three and 
thirty years ; and that self-same nature He still retains. 
Having confessed that He is perfect God, co-equal with 
the Father, we now confess that He is also perfect Man, 
with a human body and a human soul. Neither of these 
two Natures of the God-man absorbs the other ; yet not as 
the bodily and spiritual natures co-exist in each individual 
man. The Third General Council, that of Ephesus, defined 
that the human nature was taken up into the Divine, and 
so remains ; the inferior nature existing with the superior. 
As summed up very fully in the Athanasian, and admir- 
ably condensed in one of its clauses, " God and man is one 
Christ." This is the basal doctrine of the Christian relig- 
ion, anterior to the Atonement, and inclusive of it. It is 
perpetuated in the Church through the Sacraments of 
Christian birth and sustenance, which are an "exten- 
sion of the Incarnation." A fuller treatment of this latter 
truth is reserved for the consideration of the Sacraments 
themselves. 

(5) And was crucified also for us under Pontius 
Pilate; He suffered — No particulars are cited of His 
Divine life, His miraculous Baptism, His Miracles, His 
Passion : these are all embraced in the word " suffered," 
and summed up, in the Apostles' Creed, in the culminating 
phrase of His agonizing Death. The name of the Roman 
Governor of Judea and Jerusalem (a sorrowful notoriety) is 
thus sent down to the end of time, to establish unmistak- 



104 TEE C 'EUROS IN TEE PRAYER BOOK. 



ably the date and place of the central Fact of the history 
of the world. Why Our Lord appeared just at this period 
of the race, why the Blessed Virgin was chosen as His hand- 
maiden, why His death occurred by this mode, why Judea 
was originally set forth to be the theatre of His countless 
mighty acts, are matters of appointment known only to the 
" counsel and foreknowledge of the Most High," and are not 
subjects for vain conjecture. We may here pause only to 
seize upon those salient points on which hinge the Chris- 
tian verities. 

Crucifixion was death by being nailed alive to a cross 
of wood set upright in the ground. It was the Roman 
punishment for malefactors, and the most shameful of all 
deaths to a Jew. Christ's sufferings, intensified by an 
inconceivably sensitive physical and mental organization, 
and above all by the burden of vicarious expiation for the 
sins of the whole world, innocently borne, were greater 
than have ever befallen man. Not, however, by the inten- 
sity of His unbearable suffering, but voluntarily, when all 
was finished which even the Son of God could accom- 
plish, He gave up His own Life, and died that we might 
live. Because that " without shedding of blood there is 
no remission," He must die, and so complete the Infinite 
Sacrifice so long prefigured. Scientific research as to the 
precise physical cause of His death leaves little doubt that 
it was of an actual broken heart. His soul forsook His 
Body, as ours one day will do. That sacred Body, still 
the Body of the Son of God, was taken down from the 
Cross, And was buried ; — with reverence and honour, yet 
precisely as are those of other men. Thus He suffered all 
of which sinless human nature is capable, and, as said in 



THE CREEDS. 



105 



the Prayer of Consecration of His Body and Blood, He 
" made there, by His one oblation of Himself once offered, 
a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfac- 
tion for the sins of the whole world," committed before 
and after His coming. This is a brief and inadequate state- 
ment of the doctrine of the At-one-ment, or Reconciliation 
between God and man. 

(6) He descended into hell; — This part of the clause 
is from the Apostles' Creed, and does not occur in the 
Nicene. It was once allowed to be omitted in the use of 
the former, perhaps because deemed a minor article ; and 
permission is still given in the introductory rubric, for any 
" Churches" (meaning Dioceses), to substitute the equiv- 
alent words, "He went into the place of departed spirits; " — 
a permission never used. The Greek scriptural words 
" Hades " and " Gehenna " (in the Hebrew respectively 
"Sheol" and " Tophet") , are alike rendered in English by 
the word " Hell," but have widely different meanings. 
Gehenna or Tophet is the place of final punishment for the 
impenitent ; Hades or Sheol, the word here employed 
(literally a hidden or covert place), is the place or state of 
the souls of the dead, where their spirits are hidden from 
this world. Christ went thither in His spirit, between His 
death and resurrection, that, as St. Peter says, He might 
" preach to the spirits in prison," i. e., to all those who had 
lived and died before Him. There, too, He triumphed 
over Satan, there the faith of the righteous dead who had 
long looked forward to His appearing was realized, and 
there His Presence glorified Paradise (of which the peni- 
tent thief on the cross was the first fruits after Him) for 
them and for us until the day of Judgment. 



106 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



This truth has fallen into much obscurity outside the 
Church. Rome distorts it into the false doctrine of Pur- 
gatory, a place of suffering, to be mitigated by the prayers 
and alms of the faithful ; while Spiritualism and kindred 
superstitions have vulgarized and debased it by carrying 
on a sordid traffic in things invisible, by methods which 
are an insult alike to common sense and Christian hope. 
Three Paradises are in the universe : Eden, Hades and 
Heaven. Eden is forfeit ; Hades now exists, as testified 
by Our Lord's parable of Dives and Lazarus ; Heaven is 
yet to be won, by the living and by the dead. The pres- 
ent rest of Paradise is to the righteous a state of peace 
and blessing. The tree lies where it falls, it is true ; but 
in that state it may further retrograde and decay, or it 
may be made a casket and shrine of loveliness. The invol- 
untary aspiration of mankind over the departed, " May 
they rest in peace," is so far a prayer for the dead ; and 
such prayers (not prayers to the dead) are nowhere for- 
bidden in Scripture or in Catholic usage, and were never 
frowned upon until the days of too violent reaction from 
Popery. Surely spirits not beyond the power of Christ's 
preaching are not beyond the charity of prayer. And the 
third day — after parts of Friday and Sunday and the 
whole of Saturday, according to the Jewish mode of 
reckoning. He rose again according to the Scriptures ; 
— notably those written by His great ancestor David. He 
again became "perfect Man," as to His sinless and hence- 
forth unsuffering Nature. Alone in the silence and 
darkness of the first early Easter morning, His Soul 
was mysteriously reunited to His human Body. That 
Body, now spiritualized (so as to pass through closed 



THE CREEDS. 



107 



doors), still, as indicated by the word " again," retained its 
perfect identity, as even the doubting Thomas confessed. 
And so shall ours become spiritual bodies, yet identical 
though changed, like His. The Resurrection is the com- 
pletion of the work of the Atonement, and the triumph of 
the Lord of Life ; without it the Great Sacrifice would be 
in vain. It was, therefore, the constant burden of the 
Apostles' preaching. They bore personal and unflinching 
testimony to this vital Fact, fully corroborated before 
many witnesses. They saw and touched Him, ate and 
drank with Him. For the great Forty Days which fol- 
lowed, He taught them concerning His Kingdom, and 
breathed into them the Holy Ghost as He gave forth the 
Church's great Commission ; promising to be with them 
through their successors "alway, even to the end of the 
world," and to send to them quickly the Comforter, who 
should guide them into all truth. He who had raised the 
daughter of Jairus, but a few moments dead ; and the 
widow's son at Nain, on his way to burial ; and Lazarus, 
when three days in the tomb ; and the bodies of the saints 
at Jerusalem, in the very dust of death ; now raised up 
Himself, and thereby all faithful souls forever, to newness 
of life. 

(7) And ascended into heaven, — His Ascension was 
in broad day from a mountain top, before many wit- 
nesses . He brought back to Heaven a new Nature, being 
now both God and Man, the First-fruits of His perfected 
Kingdom. He is henceforth our Elder Brother, the High 
Priest of the new Tabernacle of His Church. And sit- 
teth on the right hand of the Father: — This is called 
His Session. In that ineffable Presence, " He ever liveth 



103 



THE CHVBCE IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



to make intercession for us," and forever exercises the 
priestly office of Mediation. In His human as well as 
His Divine Nature, He receives the adoration of angels 
and men, and constantly pleads between God and man 
the merits of His atoning Sacrifice. The worship of the 
Church centres in the Memorial of this One Sacrifice in 
the Holy Eucharist. Here He is present in real yet mys- 
tical manner, and makes efficient this means of grace, 
through the work of the Holy Spirit ; while He blesses 
the prayers of individual saints everywhere. Yet in 
Heaven at God's right hand He is peculiarly present, tak- 
ing upon Himself the penalty of sin, and giving hope to 
the faithful, and the " peace which passeth all understand- 
ing." 

(8) And He shall come again, with glory, — the same 
Being who died and rose and ascended, as the angels said. 
Of the time of that Second Advent knoweth no man ; but 
the Apostles looked for it speedily, and Christ's remark to 
St. Peter concerning St. John, in the last chapter of the 
latter's Gospel, indicates that he intended that they should 
do so. The Church in all ages has had the same longing 
expectation, which is meant to be to us a trial of our faith. 
Yet when that Day dawns, it will seem to have " come 
quickly," and " as a thief in the night ; " and the Coming 
will be as He went, " on the clouds of heaven." To j udge — 
with a sentence just and irreversible, yet merciful, for our 
Saviour is our Judge. Both the quick and the dead; — 
all the living and all who have died. Whose kingdom 
shall have no end. — This Kingdom is universal ; ''every 
knee shall bow." Christ's human nature in union with 
the Divine shall evermore rule all things. And this carries 



THE CREEDS. 



109 



with it for His people all honour and blessing possible to 
conceive, for they shall reign with Him. Here closes 
what may be called the purely Divine side of the Creed, 
and we pass to its last four clauses. 

(9) And I believe one Catholic and Apostolic Church ; 
— the Apostles' Creed does not mention "Apostolic," but 
adds " Holy," and the notes of a true Church are indeed 
four in number. The Holy Catholic Church is the whole 
number of the baptized, to whom salvation is promised if 
they believe. But to those baptized believers, scattered 
throughout the manifold religious bodies into which the 
errors of post-reformation days have rent the robe of Christ 
(yet whose countless Christian labours and perseverance 
even unto death no man may gainsay), no promise is given 
as to the organizations under which they serve. Such organ- 
izations must first become, like that of primitive days, 
Apostolic ; and this attribute may not, on the other hand, 
be arrogated by the Roman Church, which is indeed Apos- 
tolic in three of the Orders of her Ministry, yet being but 
one branch and that a corrupt one, of the Catholic Church 
of Christ, we should err in conceding to her alone the 
title of "catholic," or universal. That the Church is 
"One" is implied in her being Catholic and Apostolic, 
deriving her descent from the beginning, and administer- 
ing to all conditions and in all times since the day, when 
under the Apostolic College itself, the disciples "had all 
things common, and continued steadfastly in the Apostles' 
doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of the bread 
and in the prayers." The Church is the authorized cus- 
todian and dispenser of the Sacraments, and as such is a 
real corporation, with the inherent powers of self-per- 



110 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



petuation. She is not a mere code of laws, nor a compila- 
tion of sacred books, nor a series of emotions, nor a volun- 
tary association, but a living organism. She is the King- 
dom of Heaven founded here on earth, to be perfected in 
the latter day. 

That she is " Holy " is inseparable from her other 
aspect as The Communion of Saints: — These words, 
though not in the Nicene, are a part of the clause just 
recited, from which they are separated in the Apostles' 
Creed by a semi-colon only. For this profession the latter 
Creed should supersede the Nicene on All Saints' Day. 
Christians are called Saints in the New Testament, and 
the Church is their Communion because its members com- 
mune together in Christ, like children of one blood around 
one Father's Board. The Apostolic Church is their outward 
and visible Communion. Though, unhappily for us all, 
many about us do not share therein, yet there is a deep 
and inward spiritual bond of kindred fellowship, a type of 
that of the angels, between all who " love our Lord Jesus 
Christ in sincerity." They who pray without ceasing are 
surely led of the Spirit and drawn together, though some- 
times by ways devious and long delayed. The Church is 
of divine origin, for her mission is to bear witness and to 
call to repentance. She is human in her membership, yet 
not man-made ; for man can no more create a Church than 
he can create a person. The Divine breath alone gave to 
the Apostolic Church the original endowment of organic 
life. Other religious bodies, however great their fruits, 
" are rather great orders than Churches. They necessarily 
want the breadth and elasticity and comprehensiveness 
which come from an unbroken history of eighteen cen- 



THE CREEDS. 



Ill 



turies. They are not stirred and sustained by the sense of 
imperious and universal obligation." 

The kingdom of heaven, which is first the Church on 
earth, is a net which for this present time holds both bad 
and good. It is not to be rejected because it embraces im- 
perfect sinners and inconsistent saints. The sifting of the 
tares and wheat is not till the end of this world. It is for 
lis to see to it that we keep ourselves pure and serve our 
brethren of every name ; nor forget that this may not be 
done by organization merely, unless instinct with the fire 
of Christian love. In another aspect the Communion of 
Saints is threefold : past, present and future. The sainted 
dead, now in Paradise awaiting their final change, are not 
dissevered from us, but separated for a little time only by 
a veil ofttimes of exceeding delicacy. The future will make 
them (with us, let us devoutly pray) saints in Heaven. 
The world-long procession is but one ; its rear is yet on the 
earth, its front ranks for a time out of sight, yet moving 
onward with us still. 

(10) I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of 
sins: — Whatever the mercy of God, on which we may not 
presume, may vouchsafe, there is no ordinary and organic 
means of union with Christ, "generally necessary to salva- 
tion," aside from Baptism. Forgiveness is for all who seek 
it, and without it moral lives alone will not avail. Regen- 
eration in Baptism means a birth into a new state, where- 
in alone the covenanted grace of the Holy Spirit is unfail- 
ingly pledged. The Church's ministration here is declar- 
atory and authoritative, but Christ is the one Baptizer, 
from Whom all forgiveness flows. 

(11) And I look for the Resurrection of the dead : — 



112 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



In the Apostles' the word " body," or " flesh," is used. 
Greeks like Socrates and other heathen philosophers, 
believed in the immortality of the soul, but not in the 
resurrection of the body, which is an entirely different 
and purely Christian doctrine, unlike that of any other 
religion. The identity shall be perfect, though spiritual- 
ized, in spite of the dissolution and subsequent diffusion 
of the material substances. These alone do not constitute 
the body, though personality reveals itself here through 
them. The body constantly changes during life, by 
growth, renewal and decay , and at last becomes inanimate ; 
but its restoration is a miracle no greater than that of the 
plant from the seed. Man is tripartite in his nature, com- 
posed of body, soul and spirit. Death merely disturbs 
this threefold unity. As our mortal body is an instru- 
ment for the soul, so our immortal body shall be a vehicle 
for the spirit. And then our restored and ransomed three- 
fold nature shall evermore dwell in the presence of the 
Blessed Trinity. 

(12) And the Life of the world to come. — In the 
Apostles' the adjective is " everlasting," and both Creeds 
end like a triumphant cry. Neither speaks, except infer- 
entially, of the Second Death, and " neither," as has been 
forcibly said, " inserts one name in the roll of the damned." 
The Athanasian reaffirms Our Lord's parable given in St. 
Matthew, and speaks figuratively of "everlasting fire." 
Whatever this be, it can be nothing worse and will be 
nothing less than eternal banishment from the presence of 
God. Eternity and Heaven are terms incomprehensible to 
finite minds, and the effort to grasp them strains a tense 
chord. The Book of Revelation shows us but types of 



THE GREEDS. 



113 



the glories of Heaven. No pain, weakness, sorrow or 
trouble can enter there ; yet its existence cannot be inac- 
tion or inglorious ease, but rather unfettered and intensest 
life in the presence of the Beatific Vision. If it be not 
what we may imagine, it is at least certain to be " more 
than we can ask or think." Whatever else be its environ- 
ment, it will infallibly be the society of all the saints. 
But best of all, for without it Heaven itself could not be, 
it will be Communion with Christ, here imperfectly begun, 
there perfect and unending. We shall be with Him, and 
" shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 

Amen. — This is the substance and sum of the Faith. 
As in the Revelation, "Amen: even so come, Lord Jesus." 

A brief summary of the whole Creed may be compactly 
phrased after this manner : "I believe in God the Father, 
and therefore in the Forgiveness of sins ; in God the Son, 
and therefore in the Resurrection of the body ; in God the 
Holy Ghost, and hence in the Life everlasting. And I be- 
lieve in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church 
wherein these truths are brought home to, accepted by, and 
made savingly efficacious to me." 



(8) 



XII. 



THE PRAYERS AND THANKSGIVINGS, AND EVENSONG. 

"Almighty and everlasting God, who art always more 
ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more thin 
either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abun- 
dance of Thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our 
conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which 
we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and media- 
tion of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord." — The Collect for 
the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 



Q'TILL standing, at the close of the Creed, Minister and 
^ people exchange Benedictions in a form as old as the 
Apostles, and indeed found in the Book of Ruth and the 
129th Psalm. Then, all kneeling, follow* the four SUF- 
FRAGES used responsively, which are prayers for mercy, 
salvation, purity ( and sanctification. After the example 
of Our Saviour in the Garden and on the Cross, they are 
brief ejaculatory petitions, taken from the 85th and 51st 
Psalms, and placed here to mark the transition to the last 
general division of the Daily Service, that of PRAYER. 
The words, " Let us pray," are sometimes employed to 
recall wandering thoughts. Distractions which are per- 
mitted soon grow into a habit of unconscious diversion, 
which is to be conquered only by a conscious effort. 

The first Prayers here used in the Service are very brief 
and are termed " Collects," they being pithy condensations 

114 



PRAYERS THANKSGIVINGS, EVENSONG. 115 



of thought, and because collected and offered by one 
voice. In the case of the first Collect, named in the 
rubric the " Collect for the Day," an additional reference 
is had to its being generally a brief expression of the 
truths dwelt on in the day's Epistle and Gospel. The 
"Day" referred to is the Sunday or Holy-day, or both, 
which gives the keynote to the teaching of the week. And 
the reason for the precedence given to this Collect here is 
that all shall, in public or private devotion, keep familiar- 
ized with the special instruction of the time, and shall 
further, by this act, tie the Daily Service in thought to the 
Communion Office, of which the Collect is an inherent 
part. The only exemption allowed in the rubric is when 
the Holy Communion itself is immediately to follow. 

In their brevity and comprehensiveness, Collects differ 
from the ' longer, extemporaneous prayers of non-litur- 
gical bodies, as well as from other prayers in our own 
ritual. They are intended to stimulate devotion, concen- 
trate attention and prevent weariness, by their variety and 
the frequency of the responses. They are easily memor- 
ized in youth and are a great help to private devotion. 
Nearly all of them were originally in Latin, and to the 
more rhetorical usage of the Greek Church they are prac- 
tically uuknown. They are modelled above all on the 
Lord's Prayer, but also on the prayer of the Primitive 
Church at the choice of St. Matthias, and on that for bold- 
ness after the healing of the lame man and the imprison- 
ment of Peter and John, as narrated in the first and fourth 
chapters of the Acts ; the latter prayer indeed appearing 
to be a precomposed form. In them both, the supplica- 
tion itself, though highly important, is greatly condensed, 



116 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



while the address is a prominent feature. " God is in 
Heaven, and thou upon the earth ; therefore let thy words 
be few." 

The structure of a Collect is exact and definite. Its rules 
are deduced from the prayers of saints, as those of gram- 
mar from the usage of classic authors. It properly con- 
sists of a single intense period or sentence, seldom long, 
and containing but a single petition. Tertullian calls 
them "arrows of prayer shot by Christians to Heaven." 
Their outline or plan, when well constructed, has five 
parts, i. e.: 1. The invocation or address. 2. The reason, 
frequently historical, on which the petition is based. 3. 
The petition itself. 4. The resulting benefit desired. 5. 
The pleading of Christ's merits, or an ascription of praise, 
sometimes both. 

The second and third Collects which follow, those For 
Peace and For Grace, are used daily because they ask 
for blessings without which life is not worth living. Both 
are very old Latin prayers, found in the Sacramentary of 
Gelasius as early as 494 A. D., and are very appropriate 
for use in Family Prayer. That for Peace is really for 
defence and safety ; for the Church Militant against her 
spiritual foes, and for the peace of each Christian soldier. 
By " knowledge," the life of thought is indicated, and by 
" service," the life of action. That service is even more 
beautifully characterized in the Latin, by the words, 
" Whom to serve is to reign." The " grace " asked for in 
the next Collect is " to live well," to obey and to serve ; 
like the clauses, " Thy Kingdom come " and " Thy will be 
done " in the Lord's Prayer. The " defence " solicited is first 
from sin; and both Collects breathe the spirit of morning 



PRATERS, THANKSGIVINGS, EVENSONG 117 



freshness and activity. Matins ended here in the First 
Book, but longer, intercessory Prayers now follow ; with 
permission, in the English Book, for an Anthem at this 
point, and direction for the insertion of the Litany, when 
used. On any week-day the Service with us may close 
here with the Grace alone. 

The first of the Intercessions for others is (not merely 
in national crises, but) always for the authorities of the 
State (and especially For the President) as St. Paul di- 
rects in I. Timothy ii. 1, 2. It is modelled on the Prayer 
for the Queen's Majesty in the English Book, and was 
originally more rhetorical, being first found in the private 
prayers of Queen Katharine, the consort of King Henry 
VIII. The English Book has no break after this Prayer, 
which is followed there by one for the Royal Family. 
Our rubric directs the omission of the remaining Prayers 
when the Litany is to be used, and permits the omission 
when the Holy Communion is immediately to follow (the 
Grace may properly conclude in the latter case), on ac- 
count of the intercessory character of these Offices. 

Next after the Prayer for Rulers comes that For Clergy 
and People, this being over thirteen hundred years old. 
In the English Book the attribute assigned to God is 
" Who alone workest great marvels," referring to the gifts 
of Pentecost to the early Church ; but our own beautiful 
phrase, "from Whom cometh every good and perfect 
gift," is better. The Prayer is for healthful cleansing and 
continued refreshment. The Church's growth depends 
upon the earnestness and frequency of such supplications. 
Prayer upbuilds, and stifles the too frequent destructive 
criticism which would pull down. This is appropriate for 



118 THE CHURCH IX THE PRATER BOOK. 



private use, specially fitting during a vacancy in the Cure 
or See, and always so for our own Bishop, Priest and con- 
gregation. 

The Prayer For all Conditions cf Men was originally mnch 
longer, having been written in 1662 by the Bishop of Ely 
as a substitute for the Litany, before the restoration of the 
Prayer Book after its abolition by the Puritans. It is now 
printed as an Occasional Prayer by the English Church, 
but is there ordered to be used when the Litany is not said. 
In tone it resembles that for the Church Militant, and is 
founded on the Good Friday Collects. Recognizing the 
breadth of the Holy Catholic (or Universal) Church, it is 
really a daily Prayer for Christian Unity, and for the 
holding of the Faith in peace and righteousness. Even 
broader than this, it addresses the Creator and Preserver of 
all mankind, and includes all men, especially the afflicted, 
and its first part is an admirable petition for Foreign 
Missions. The distresses of life are classified as those of 
mind, body and estate (condition), and relief is asked 
through patience and peace. The marginal rubric allows 
the insertion of a clause of special application. At this 
point are to be inserted any Special Prayers or Thanksgiv- 
ings which may be appropriate, taken from the Table of 
such which follows the Litany. 

In the English Book, our General Thanksgiving, which 
follows here, appears as one of these Occasional Thanks- 
givings, and its Daily Service closes without it, though it is 
really said there perhaps nearly as often as with us. This 
precious form of words, compiled in 1662 by Bishop Rey- 
nolds from one used after a triumphal progress of Queen 
Elizabeth, is half thanksgiving, and half prayer for the 



PRAYERS, THANKSGIVINGS, EVENSONG. 119 



proper fruits of gratitude. It has been sometimes repeated 
with the Minister, like the General Confession, though such 
a practice is entirely without liturgical warrant ; and 
the true usage here is to consider the word " General " as 
applied to blessings, rather than to us who acknowledge 
them. There is a special discretionary clause for the recog- 
nition of individual mercies ; and the form embraces all 
mercies to all men. Three of these classes of mercies relate 
to the body — creation, preservation and providence ; and 
three other of higher import relate to the soul — redemption, 
grace, and the hope of glory. The means of grace is God's 
gift, i. e., the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments and prayer. 
A sense of such boundless mercies should foster a habit of 
counting our blessings, and of always looking on the bright 
side of things, as did even the heathen philosopher Epic- 
tetus, himself a cripple and a slave. Optimists wield the 
great moral forces of the world ; doubt is a disease, and 
trials but blessings in disguise. The highest blessing is a 
joyous spirit, which with the lips and lives shows forth 
its praise in God's service. 

The Prayer of St. Chrysostom, or St. John " the golden- 
mouthed " preacher (as the Greek word Chrysostom signi- 
fies) and Bishop of Constantinople, dates from 398 A. D., 
and is taken from the liturgy which bears his name, still 
in use in the Greek Church. He was the greatest divine 
of that Church, as St. Augustine was of the Latin. Arch- 
bishop Cranmer first placed the Prayer in a European 
liturgy in 1544. After the Greek custom of petitioning 
each Person in the Godhead, it addresses Christ as God, 
quoting His own words. Its concluding petition is for the 
acceptance of all our prayers, as it may seem good to Him ; 



120 



TEE CEURCE IN TEE PRATER BOOK. 



the object being the knowledge of God, which leads to life 
eternal. A devout mind has likened it to the " purest in- 
cense, all of which goes up to God." 

The Minor Benediction, or Apostolic Grace, of II. Corinth- 
ians, is not strictly a benediction, the Minister remaining 
on his knees. It was most likely quoted by St. Paul from 
an existing liturgy, has always been used by the Greek 
Church, and is taken here from the Great Bible. It is 
an Invocation of the Trinity, and the Holy Ghost is 
Himself the Author. And thus the Daily Service ends as 
it began, with Holy Scripture ; " not in the words which 
man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost 
teacheth." At the close of any Service the Clergy retire 
to the Sacristy as they entered, preceded by the Choir (if a 
vested one), singing a processional Hymn or Anthem, while 
the congregation rises. Such a Hymn is called Reces- 
sional or Retrocessional. The silent prayer before the 
worshippers depart is often accompanied by the distant 
Commendation of the Minister, followed by the "Amen " 
of the Choir from the Sacristy. 



In connection with the Daily Service, there remain to 
be considered the variations in the Evening Prayer (or 
" Evensong," as in the First Book, and as it is often called, 
even though the Canticles be not sung), and the Occa- 
sional Prayers and Thanksgivings. 

As the Morning Service is a condensation of the old 
Offices of Matins, Lauds and Prime, so Evensong unites 
those of Vespers and Compline. Its Opening Sentences 
are not altogether the same as those of the morning, as are 



PRAYERS, THANKSGIVINGS, EVENSONG. 121 



the English, but embrace a similar arrangement and 
scope of teaching, and are twenty-seven in number. The 
shorter form of the Exhortation, " Let us humbly confess our 
sins unto Almighty God," may be at any time and gener- 
ally is substituted for the other ; and, except on Sunday, 
omission may be made of all between the Sentences and 
the Lord's Prayer. No other variations exist until the 
closing Prayers, except in the Lessons and Canticles, all of 
which are different from those of the morning. The Psalter 
follows the Gloria immediately, without the intervention 
of an invitatory Anthem, and is frequently sung through- 
out. Permission is given to substitute the GLORIA IN 
EXCELS IS for the Gloria Patri at the end of the Psalter. 
Inasmuch, however, as that Hymn is an integral part of 
the Communion Office, it will be more properly treated 
there. 

Between the Old and New Testament Lessons, three 
alternative Canticles correspond to the Te Deum and 
Benedicite at Morning Prayer. The first is the MAGNIF- 
ICAT from Cranmer's version of St. Luke, or the Gospel 
Hymn of the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, which is, 
of all Christian Hymns, the one most intimately connected 
with the Saviour, and has been in use from the sixth cen- 
tury. Resembling the song of Hannah after the birth of 
Samuel, which was doubtless familiar to the Virgin, its 
inspiration is higher and its strains sweeter, and it is free 
from the notes of worldly triumph which occur in the 
former. In its beatitudes it suggests the Sermon on the 
Mount, and its burden is the blessedness of the pure in 
heart and the triumph of humility. Her acknowledg- 
ment of Gabriel's revelation is made by the word " Saviour " 



122 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



in its first verse. She glorifies Him for His Incarnation, 
and glorifies His Church because through her His mystical 
Body is constantly magnified. The Blessed Virgin is very 
intimately linked with the Church in the mind of Chris- 
tianity, as " first among women." 

The first alternative Chant is the 98th Psalm or the CAN- 
TAT E, as it is familiarly known, which was not in the Eng- 
lish Book till 1552, and is never used here on the nineteenth 
day of the month, where it occurs in the Evening Psalter. It 
somewhat resembles the Magnificat, but still more the Ben- 
edicite, in calling on God's works by land and sea. Like 
the Venite and the Jubilate, it is one of the Royal Litur- 
gical Psalms of the Temple Service, and portrays the glories 
of Christ's spiritual kingdom ; summoning first the house 
of Israel, then all nations, and lastly all nature, to rejoice 
before the Conqueror of His enemies and the Judge of all 
the earth. A second substitute is provided in the BONUM 
EST, or the first four verses of the 92d Psalm (also litur- 
gical), which is not in the English Book. This is called 
in the Bible "A song for the Sabbath Day," because then 
sung at the early sacrifice, and also on the second day of 
the Feast of Tabernacles. Jewish stringed and wind 
instruments are mentioned, and in the entire Psalm the 
name Jehovah occurs seven times, as well as " Most High- 
est." If Evensong is repeated on the same day, one of 
these two alternates should come at the earlier time, leav- 
ing the Magnificat for the evening ; and of the two the 
Bonum est is the better fitted for Advent and Lent. 

After the Second Lesson, unless a Baptism intervene at 
this point, as is customary for that Service, there follows one 
of three Canticles, of which the first and most honourable 



PRAYERS, THANKSGIVINGS, EVENSONG. 125 



is the NUNC DIM ITT IS, which has been used from the 
earliest days of Christianity. It is the Gospel Hymn of 
aged Simeon, as given in Cranmer's version of St. Luke, in 
the story of the Presentation in the Temple. Like the 
Magnificat, it reflects the spirit of both Dispensations, in 
speaking of Christ as the Glory of Israel and the Light of 
the Gentiles. It should always come last, and is so fitted 
for the hours of darkness as to seem written for that time ; 
reminding us that our Lord is the Light of the world and 
the Sun of the soul. The sweetest and most solemn of all 
the Canticles, it betokens the spirit of the calm and 
thoughtful saint ready to depart and be at rest. 

The DEUS (Psalm 67, inserted in 1552), may be substi- 
tuted, except on the twelfth evening of the month. Its 
appropriateness is general rather than special ; its opening 
words being a paraphrase of the Aaronic blessing, and 
" nations " includes the Gentiles. Its character is Messi- 
anic, and its divisions correspond exactly to those of the 
Cantate. Though more jubilant than the Nunc Dimittis, 
it yet resembles prayer rather than praise. The other 
alternate, the BEN EDI C (or the first four and last three 
verses of the 103d Psalm), is unknown to the English Book. 
Though most fervent in its spirit of praise, it is perhaps 
more suited to private devotion than to liturgical use. 

After the Creed the SUFFRAGES or PRECES resemble 
the English use, which has the larger number at Morning 
Prayer as well. Those inserted here before the first and 
last pairs of the morning are for the State, the Ministry 
and people, and for peace and safety. The Collect For 
Peace is from the same ancient source as that in Morning 
Prayer, and the phrase, " which the world cannot give," 



124 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



resembles the tone of the Nunc Dimittis, like an echo from 
another world. Spiritual experience is traced through 
desires and counsels to works. Fear of enemies is to be 
cast out by trust in God. The language of the Collect 
For Aid against Perils, which is as old as the other three, 
plainly indicates its former use in the Compline, or bed- 
time Service. It is a remarkable instance of compression 
of thought, and reflects almost the words of the Psalmist, 
" The Lord my God shall make my darkness to be light." 

The Evening Service (though such use should not 
become habitual) may here close with the Grace, or may 
be interrupted by an Anthem, after the English order. It 
may also end at discretion with any Prayers from the 
Prayer Book, which may be said from the Choir or the 
Sanctuary, the latter use being, like the Collect, a link with 
the Communion Office. A substitute is provided next 
for the morning Prayer For the President, which specifically 
includes the Governor of the State. Its original is the 
first prayer for the Queen, written in 1549, which occurs, 
strangely enough, in the English Communion Office 
immediately after the Ten Commandments. In construc- 
tion it is by no means a good example of liturgies, con- 
sisting of one long and involved sentence, whose signifi- 
cance is not readily apparent. 

From this point the Evening Service is identical with 
that of the Morning, and nowhere in either Service is there 
any intimation or implication that one is of greater im- 
portance than the other ; or that attendance on a single 
Service, on the Lord's Day at least, fulfils more than the 
minimum of obligation. A restoration of the habitual 
public rendering, in fact as well as theory, of the Daily 



PRAY EMS, THANKSGIVINGS, EVENSONG. 125 



Service is much to be desired ; and it may well be ques- 
tioned whether the time has not arrived for some move- 
ment in this direction. The presence with the Minister of 
" two or three gathered together," or even of the angels 
only, fulfils the conditions of a promised blessing to those 
who offer worship. If churches stood always open, wher- 
ever it could with safety be done, they would often prove 
welcome asylums whence silent petitions might wing 
their flight to God amid the perplexities of life's daily 
round. 



The OCCASIONAL PRAYERS AND THANKSGIV- 
INGS, when used in the absence of the General Thanks- 
giving, occur before the final Grace. Almost all of them 
are comparatively modern, and have the more diffuse char- 
acteristics of later days. Dealing largely with national 
needs, they preserve many of the Old Testament allusions 
to a chosen nation. Mainly concerned with temporal bless- 
ings and calamities, they are generally offered with a con- 
dition, and emphasize the mystery of harmonizing human 
prayer with the Divine will. The order of arrangement 
of these compilations differs somewhat in the English 
Book. 

The first Prayer here is one For Congress, which is to be 
used during its session, and closely corresponds to the Eng- 
lish Prayer for the High Court of Parliament. The most 
noticeable variation is the omission of the latter's ful- 
some phrase, " under our most religious and gracious 
Queen an unusual feature in a liturgy, and originally 
applied to Charles I. It is copied from one by Arch- 
bishop Laud, and is a good example of the more rhetor- 



126 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



ical style. As the phrase regarding Parliament includes, 
with the State, the Church also, as represented by the 
Upper and Lower Houses of Convocation, it was perhaps 
intended originally for use in that body only. Material 
welfare is here expressed by " peace and happiness," moral 
welfare by "truth and justice," and spiritual welfare by 
" religion and piety ; " all arranged in an ascending scale. 
The early Christians prayed for the Roman Senate ; and 
the constant use of this Prayer in the turmoil of modern 
politics cannot but effect large results in promoting the sta- 
bility of the Constitution and in giving the Church a nation- 
al character. The Prayer to be used At the Meetings of Con- 
vention does not occur in the English Book. The abiding 
presence of the Church's great Head is abundantly recog- 
nized, as well as the guidance of the Holy Spirit in accom- 
plishing her great mission of in-gathering. Appropriately 
next in order comes the beautiful prayer For the Unity oj 
GooVs People, taken from the English Service for the Day 
of the Sovereign's Accession, which is too simple and 
touching to need further comment ; and its faithful use, 
especially during Lent, in connection with confession of 
our own sins, ought to be a potent factor in so precious a 
consummation. It is followed by an ancient prayer For 
Missions, equally appealing to every devout mind. 

The Prayer For Rain refers in its preamble to St. Matthew 
vi. 33. It was originally in the English Communion Office. 
That For Fair Weather is an entirely different Prayer from 
the English one. That In Dearth and Famine is compiled 
from two which are there used, and that In War and Tumults 
is greatly improved from theirs. Both of the Collects For 
those to be admitted to Holy Orders are peculiar to the Angli- 



PRAYERS, THANKSGIVINGS, EVENSONG. 127 



can Communion, and were inserted in 1662. The first is 
by Bishop Cosin, and prays for the ordainers as well as 
those ordained, that the Imposition of Hands may not be 
" sudden " or without due inquiry. The second is repeated 
in the Ordinal. In each a petition is made, that both doc- 
trine and life may redound to man's salvation and to the 
glory of God. Two ancient alternative Prayers follow For 
Fruitful Seasons, to be used on the Rogation Days of spring 
and on the Sunday previous, immediately preceding Ascen- 
sion Day. Both the title and contents of that In Sickness 
and Mortality vary in the English Book, and beyond it there 
are no further Special Prayers in that Book. Our own 
proceeds with those For a Sick Person, For a Sick Child, 
For those at Sea, and For those in Affliction ; all of them similar 
to those in the corresponding Offices of Visitation. Those 
for the sick should not be delayed until death is imminent. 
That For Malefactors is additional to the one in the Office 
for the Visitation of Prisoners, and closes the list. All of 
these latter Prayers are peculiarly Christlike, because 
necessarily unselfish. All Occasional Prayers precede the 
General Thanksgiving, when the latter is used. 

The Thanksgivings begin with that Of Women after Child- 
birth, which is not in the English Book in this place, and is 
with us generally employed instead of the entire Office for 
the Churching of Women. The former at least should never 
be omitted, the mother herself being present in Church. 
The same order as the English, with verbal variations, is 
then followed, with Thanksgivings For Rain, For Fair 
Weather, For Plenty, For Deliverance from Enemies, For Re- 
storing Public Peace, and For Deliverance in time of Mortality, 
the latter being twofold in the older Book. Like the cor- 



123 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



responding Prayers, they are peculiar to Anglican use, and 
have a frequent Scriptural reference. Some of them are not 
specially adapted to the needs of the present time. As 
with the Prayers, we outnumber the English by adding Col- 
lects For Recovery from Sickness, For a Child's Recovery, and For 
a Safe Return from Sea. These are really private, but should 
never fail to be personally rendered in Church. To do other- 
wise, is to incur the sin of ingratitude, like the ten lepers 
who sought and were cleansed, but of whom nine returned 
no thanksgiving. When Special Thanksgivings are used, 
they are inserted after the General Thanksgiving, since 
specials logically follow generals. 

If all these Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings, with 
the others in this Book, were faithfully used, few of the ordi- 
nary human needs would be uncared for. But over and 
above these and available on special private or public occa- 
sions, the Church has great treasures from the storehouse 
of Anglican and Primitive catholicity, which satisfy alike 
the instincts of the mind and the longings of the soul. 



XIII. 



THE LITANY. 

" We humbly beseech Thee, Father, mercifully to look 
upon our infirmities; and, for the glory of Thy Name, turn 
from us all those evils that we most justly have deserved.''' 1 — 
The Litany Collect. 

" Lord, we beseech Thee, mercifully hear our prayers, 
and spare all those who confess their sins unto Thee; that 
they, whose consciences by sin are accused, by Thy merciful 
pardon may be absolved:" 1 — The Penitential Office for Ash- 
Wednesday. 

TT FTER Morning Prayer has been rendered as far as the 
rubric which prepares a place for it (and which has 
been earlier noted), there follows THE LITANY OR GEN- 
ERAL SUPPLICATION. Its ordinary use as a Penitential 
Office is directed on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 
the two latter (called Litany-days) being the days of Our 
Lord's betrayal and crucifixion, and therefore always of 
special seriousness to Christian hearts. The English 
Prayer Book adds " and at other times when commanded 
by the Ordinary," L e., the Bishop. And with us the use, 
though not ordered, is very properly extended to the Em- 
ber-days and Rogation-days, and to any day in the Seasons 
of Advent and Lent ; all of which are times of abstinence 
and special prayer, which will be hereafter referred to. 
It is employed also at Ordinations and reprinted in con- 

(9) 129 



130 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



nection with those Offices as a matter of convenience, they 
having been originally printed as a separate book. 

Inasmuch as it is rubrically declared to be a distinct 
Service, the Litany may be said separately at any time, if not 
" habitually disused and in either case it may be most 
impressively introduced by a LITANY HYMN, of which 
the De Profundis, or 130th Psalm of the Psalter, is the most 
marked type. In the First Book, of which it was the 
portion earliest adopted (A. D. 1544), and in which it 
attained its first weekly use, it is called the " Litany and 
Suffrages" (or petitions and assents), and is there placed 
after the Communion Office. It is indeed a penitential 
Preface to that highest Office, being often used in that con- 
nection without the immediate precedence of Morning 
Prayer; and it should therefore preferably not be used sep- 
arately in the evening, though it is allowed with Evening 
Prayer. Indeed, its independent use should be restricted to 
purely penitential occasions, inasmuch as in itself it does 
not constitute a logically complete liturgical function. It 
were to be wished that its use at Christmas, Easter and 
Whitsunday were not obligatory. 

The word is derived from the Greek "Litaneia" or Ser- 
vice of supplication. Such a Service obtained in the fourth 
century in times of drought, flood or fire, when Hymns with 
frequent responses were sung in procession, and Collects 
recited at the pauses for rest. Such responsive forms are » 
still common in the Greek Church, yet the development 
of the Litany is chiefly Western, and its processional 
character is still retained or has been revived, in some par- 
ishes in both the English and American Church. Mamer- 
tus, the Bishop of Vienne in Gaul, adopted the latter in 



THE LITANY. 



131 



467 A. D., on the three Rogation-days, during the preva- 
lence of earthquakes ; and also Gregory, Bishop of Rome, 
in 590 A. D., on St. Mark's Day, to abate the horrors of pes- 
tilence. The processions which were in use on similar 
occasions in England in 747 A. D., were afterwards dropped 
owing to abuses in connection with them ; and as limita- 
tion of usage to special times was discontinued, the Ser- 
vice itself became more frequent and familiar. 

Our present incomparable "intercession for all men" 
was compiled by Archbishop Cranmer from many sources, 
but chiefly from the Septiformis liturgy of the same Bishop 
Gregory who sent Augustine to convert the Saxons, and 
which was so named because in its processions there 
marched seven representative classes of the people, i. e., 
clerks, monks, virgins, laymen, wives, widows and children. 
The Invocations of saints which were added in the eighth 
century were retained until 1544, and at that date there 
existed the anomaly of petitions to "<St. Mary, Mother of 
God," to " Angels and Archangels," and to " Saints in the 
blessed company of heaven," side by side with one against 
" the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome, and all his detestable 
enormities." 

The most ancient Litany is the Miserere, or 51st Psalm. 
The character of this is private, but inspired warrant for 
public ones is given in Joel ii. 17, where " the Priest 
weeps between the porch and the Altar." This is the rea- 
son why Litany-stools for kneeling are often placed for this 
Service at the entrance to the Choir ; at which the Priest, 
leaving his position at one side where Morning Prayer has 
been read, kneels facing eastward as a suppliant among 
his flock. It is in two parts, the Greater Litany, and the 



132 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



discretionary portion which may be omitted as indicated 
by the rubric preceding it, and which is not ordinarily 
used except in the Seasons of Advent and Lent, or on 
other special occasions. The English use, however, has no 
such omission. 

Except its four opening clauses, the Greater Litany 
is wholly a form of supplicatory worship paid to the Per- 
son of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and is a solemn Prayer for 
His mediation as both God and Man. In this respect it 
differs from the Collects, which are ordinarily addressed 
to the Father. It consists of five divisions, i. e., The In- 
vocations, The Deprecations, The Obsecrations, The Inter- 
cessions and The Agnus Dei. 

(1) The Invocations. The first four clauses are Prayers 
to each Person of the Holy Trinity, and then to the Three 
in One, being acts of adoration coupled with a petition for 
mercy, after the cry of blind Bartimeus, " O Son of David, 
have mercy on me." The expression " Father of Heaven " 
is the same as " Heavenly Father " (&e coelis). The Invo- 
cations are repeated by the congregation as a distinct re- 
sponse. This is the better use and harmonizes with the 
use of those which follow ; but there is no rubrical direc- 
tion, and in some cases they have been recited with the Min- 
ister, though unliturgically, as indicated by the alternate 
character of the printing. 

(2) The Deprecations. These are six in number and are 
petitions for escape or deliverance from evils. The first 
is a special plea through the blood of Christ, to be spared 
the consequence of all offences, including those which, 
under the law of the Second Commandment, are inherited 
from our forefathers. The response to the others is a par- 



THE LITANY. 



133 



aphrase of " Deliver us from evil," and first from all evil 
and mischief (or harm); then from sin (the greatest evil), 
and from the devil (its author), whose " crafts " are secret 
and his " assaults " open. The " wrath of God " and " ever- 
lasting damnation " complete the list of spiritual evils 
from without, and leave no room for the belief in a universal 
salvation. Then follow the evils which threaten from 
within, led by •' blindness of heart," since ignorance is the 
root of most spiritual evils ; and passing on to the other 
sins against God, which are pride, vain-glory and hypocrisy. 
These are all especial breaches of the Law of Faith ; and 
are succeeded by sins against man, or breaches of the Law 
of Love,SLS " envy, hatred, malice and all uncharitableness." 

A third class are sins against self, or breaches of the Law 
of Purity, called here " all inordinate and sinful affections," 
and in the English Book " fornication, and all other deadly 
sin." All s}nritual deceits are summed up as those of the 
world (from without), the flesh (from within), and the 
devil (from evil angels). The bodily ills which follow are 
less detailed. Some of these come directly from God, as 
" lightning and tempest ;" others through man's fault or 
agency, as " battle and murder ;" and here faith should 
not be exercised alone without the reasonable precautions 
of a free will. " Sudden death " is not necessarily an evil, 
except when it finds us unprepared, and is untimely, as 
indeed the older Litanies indicate. 

Lastly comes a threefold series of the evils which affect 
society at large. The political offences are "sedition" (or 
evil thoughts against government), " privy conspiracy " (or 
secret plotting), and " rebellion " (or open resistance). 
This last does not appear in the First Book, but was in- 



134 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



serted after Cromwell's rebellion. Increasing in force> 
come now the ecclesiastical evils of " false doctrine," and its 
fruits ; " heresy " (or its open profession) and " schism " 
(or the cutting-off and sundering of Church Unity). The 
last was added after the rise of the Puritan party in Eng- 
land. Finally, as a climax, are named the spiriiual sins of 
"hardness of heart" (not ignorance now, but ignoring), 
and the fearful " contempt of God's Word and Command- 
ment," which has its result in final impenitence. 

(3) The Obsecrations, or entreaties. Of these there are 
three. By the sacramental virtue of all Christ's acts as 
related to His Death and Resurrection, the Creed is turned 
into a prayer for His mediatorial pardon ; and these acts 
appear, not merely as patterns, but as causes of grace. 
Many of the events of His earthly life are named here, 
though not detailed in the Creeds. The Church commem- 
orates His " Incarnation " on the Feast of the Annuncia- 
tion; His " Nativity " at Christmas; His " Circumcision " at 
New Year's ; His " Baptism " at Epiphany; His "Fasting 
and Temptation " in Lent; His "Agony and Bloody Sweat," 
His "Cross and Passion," His "Death and Burial" in 
Holy Week; His "Resurrection" at Easter; His "Ascen- 
sion" on Holy Thursday; and the " Coming of the Holy 
Ghost " on Whitsunday. In the last of these three Obse- 
crations, the merits of Christ are implored for application 
to all the vicissitudes of life. The words used are few, but 
have a world of meaning ; " in all time of our tribulation ; 
in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in 
the day of judgment." The same thought is spoken in 
the Burial Office at the open grave, " Suffer us not, at our 
last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from Thee." 



THE LITANY. 



135 



(4) The Intercessions, comprising seventeen verses, or 
more than half the Litany, are introduced by the humble 
confession, K We sinners do beseech Thee to hear us." 
Each begins with "That it may please Thee," and the re- 
sponse is changed to " We beseech Thee to hear us, good 
Lord." They are, like the others, addressed to Christ, and 
the first is for the governance of His Church; followed by 
a vast range of petitions for others' needs. There are two 
series of them, of which the first is for various conditions 
of mankind. That for " all Christian Rulers and Magis- 
trates " is condensed from six petitions which appear in 
the English Book, some of the latter mentioning the rulers 
by name. The old form " illuminate," as applied to " Bish- 
ops, Priests and Deacons," signifies the enlightenment of 
the Holy Spirit ; and is followed, in the form of Litany 
used in the Ordinal, by a special Suffrage for those newly 
ordained, as here it is by one for the blessing of the Lord 
of the harvest on the cause of Christian Missions. In the 
next two clauses, the words " people " and " nations " are 
contrasted ; the former applying only to God's people, 
and the latter to all nations, Christian or heathen. 

The second series of Intercessions embraces the chief 
needs and graces of all human existence, and first asks for 
the " love and fear " of God, or the rendering of the duty 
of man simply as man. Grace to "receive the Word" 
and " to bring forth its fruits " is sought in the next clause, 
as the duty of Christians; followed by a petition for those 
yet " erring and deceived." Then help is sought in forms 
of trial; " strength, restoration and victory " to the tempted ; 
" succor, help and comfort " to the distressed. In the next 
four petitions, special protection is implored in conditions 



136 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



of peculiar helplessness ; " for travelers, in childbirth, in 
sickness and infancy ; for prisoners in peace or war ; for 
orphans, widows and the friendless and finally " for all 
men," and especially "for our enemies, persecutors and 
slanderers, 1 ' the very causes perhaps of the troubles just 
recited. The last two Intercessions are, first, for general 
temporal blessings, summed up in " the fruits of the earth " 
after their natural "kinds"; and lastly, for the greater 
spiritual blessings of " repentance, forgiveness of sins com- 
mitted, omitted and unwitting; the grace of the Holy 
Spirit, and the power of amendment of life." 

(5) The Agnus Dei, or the three remaining petitions' 
wherein Christ is appealed to as the " Lamb of God," and 
"hearing, peace and mercy" are besought, are of very 
ancient and universal use, beginning with St. John Baptist. 
The elder Litanies ended here with the Lord's Prayer and 
Collects. 

The style of the discretionary portion of the Litany is 
more broken and varied than the other ; it being in four 
sections and addressed mainly to God the Father. Its 
first division (which is the Minor Litany proper), is the 
Kyrie Eleison, or " Christ, have mercy upon us," being the 
threefold Invocation of the Trinity, after " Christ, hear 
us," and before the Lord's Prayer. It is, of all pleas offered 
to God, the oldest and most sorrowful ; the cry of Psalmist, 
Prophet, publican and leper. In all liturgies but the An- 
glican, it is in the Greek form. The Lord? 8 Prayer and 
Rogations follow, the latter somewhat archaic in form, dat- 
ing from the fifth century. The former is used here, and 
always where penitential in intent, without its Doxology ; 
and the Versicles which follow it are from the 103d Psalm. 



THE LITANY. 



137 



The use of the phrase " Let us pray " here, and elsewhere 
in similar situations, is to summon to the use of a less 
fervent and broken form of supplication, as in the follow- 
ing Collect. This varies slightly from the English, and is 
a petition for safety and a thankful sense of protection ; it 
being an ancient Prayer against persecution. Instead of 
the Amen, it is followed by an Antiphon (or response), re- 
peated with slight variation after an intervening Rogation ; 
all of which are based on Psalm xliv. 1,26. As Christ 
bids us hallow the Father's Name, we appeal to Him for 
His Name's sake and for His Honour, which may not be 
doubted or blasphemed. 

This leads us confidently, though yet on our knees, to 
the Gloria Patri and Supplications, the former of which, a 
response to the words of the Psalm, bursts forth, like the 
" Day by day we magnify Thee " of the Te Deum. The ten 
closing supplications are made to Christ, as in the Greater 
Litany, and were originally framed in time of war. The 
pleas are intensely earnest for " deliverance from enemies, 
comfort in affliction and sorrow, forgiveness and accept- 
ance." As the " Son of David," He can be touched with a 
feeling for our infirmities, and our appeal to Him as our 
Intercessor ends with a burst of confidence in His mercy, 
as in the last verse of the Te Deum. The entire Litany 
closes with a very ancient Prayer to the Father, beginning 
a We humbly beseech Thee." We pray that in compassion 
to our weaknesses deserved evils may be averted ; but if 
not, that even in adversity we may trust and serve Him, 
through the merits of the God-man, our Mediator and 
Advocate. The whole prayer is an echo of Gethsemane. 



138 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



The Thanksgiving which follows is a part of the Daily 
Service proper, and not of this. 

Thus ends the Litany which, as said a learned and 
godly Bishop, " is, of all forms of prayer, the most richly 
evangelical"; embraces "the origin of man, his temp- 
tation, fall and depravity, his redemption, justification, 
judgment and glorification " contains almost the whole 
Gospel, the Creed, the Moral Law and the Lord's Prayer 
and resembles "the golden censer of the Angel in the 
Apocalypse, filled with much incense, the prayers of all 
the saints. " 



XIY. 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 



"Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the 
works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now 
in the time of this mortal life, in which Thy Son J esus, Christ 
came to visit us in great humility." — The Collect for Advent 
Sunday. 

'HE faithful use of the priceless heritage of the CHRIS- 



TIAN YEAR, with its annual recurrence of Feasts 
and Fasts, is a source of incalculable power and blessing. 
As yet it is not in (public) use by our Protestant brethren, 
except in respect to the great Festivals of Christmas and 
Easter, and the time is still not remote when the observ- 
ance of the former was a penal offence in Massachusetts. 
But the return to any portion of the Sacred Seasons which 
distinguish the Calendar of the religious life from the pure- 
ly secular one is a happy omen. Logically it involves the 
adoption of the entire Calendar, and there are indications 
of a growing sentiment in this direction. The appoint- 
ment by State or National authority of an annual day of 
Fasting and another of Thanksgiving, with an illogical 
" week of prayer " at the opening of the year, is a meagre 
provision indeed for the instinctive demand of Christian 
hearts, as is beginning to be acknowledged. The sense of 
joy and gratitude for the blessings of Christmas and Easter 
can not be properly evinced without the due preparation 




139 



UO THE CHURCH IX THE PRAYER BOOK. 



for them by the holy Seasons of Advent, Lent and Holy 
Week, and their acceptance carries with it the entire prop- 
osition for the commemoration, in due order, of the lead- 
ing events in the life of Oar Lord and Master. " The 
Christian Year is a lively and systematic exposition of 
the Christian Creed." The learned and judicious Hooker 
says : " Well to celebrate these religious and sacred days 
is to spend the flower of our time happily." 

The observance of Wednesday and Friday as well as 
Sunday is as old as Christianity, while the Christian Year 
itself is the outgrowth of Judaic precedent. Easter is the 
Christian Passover, Whitsunday the Christian Pentecost, 
and Christmas the Christian Feast of Tabernacles. These 
mark the broad outlines of the yearly round, and with the 
Feasts and Fasts included in that cycle countless tradi- 
tions and memories are involved. The Year begins about 
a month in advance of the secular year, and with the pre- 
paratory period of four weeks called Advent, which heralds 
the anniversary of Our Lord's Nativity. Thence onward 
for about one half the Year the teaching of Collect, Epistle 
and Gospel, which are an integral part of the Communion 
Office for each Sunday and Holy-day, is historically and 
doctrinally based on the events and phases of Our Saviour's 
earthly Life and of the founding of His Church, culminat- 
ing in Trinity Sunday, set part in special honour of the 
Triune God. After this, from Trinity on to Advent again, 
the Sundays bear no names except numerical ones, the 
observance is mostly non-festal in its character, and the 
instruction mainly practical in the duties of the Christian 
life. 

The same authority which wrote, defined and accepted 



THE CHRISTIAN TEAR. 



141 



the New Testament Canon of the Scriptures changed the 
day of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Lord's Day ; 
thus celebrating on the First Day of the week the Resur- 
rection of Our Saviour, who " brought life and immortality 
to light;" as the Jewish Church had commemorated on the 
seventh day the completed work of the first Creation. Of 
the FEASTS AND FESTIVALS of the Christian Year there 
are eighty- two, and fifty-seven of them are in honour of 
Our Lord; i. e., Easter and forty-nine other Sundays (the 
other two having a peculiar and added significance), 
Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Easter Monday and 
Tuesday, Ascension and Transfiguration. Whitsunday 
and the Monday and Tuesday following are the three 
Feasts in honour of the Holy Ghost, and Trinity Sunday that 
of the Blessed Trinity. Of the remaining twenty-one, 
Michaelmas commemorates the Holy Angels, and two, An- 
nunciation and Purification, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Four- 
teen others are in memory of the Twelve Apostles (with St. 
Matthias in the place of Judas), and including St. Paul and 
St. Barnabas. Of the other four three bear the names of St. 
John Baptist, St. Stephen the first martyr, and the Holy Inno- 
cents, and the last is the Day of All Saints, unmentioned 
by name, who have borne testimony to the Faith of Christ 
from the beginning. 

The days assigned to individual saints are usually 
those of their martyrdom. Other National Churches, like 
the Church of England, have a Calendar embracing by 
name saints of later times, though these so-called " black- 
letter days " have no proper Service of their own ; but 
ours is confined to those named in Holy Scripture. The 
prophets of the Hebrew Dispensation, except Our Lord's 



142 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



great forerunner, are not thus commemorated (save by 
the Greek Church), since He himself has said that " he 
that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater " than 
they. In addition to all these, the Church has a special 
Service for such annual or other Thanksgiving festival as 
shall be appointed by State or National authority. The 
strict distinction between the words " Festival " and 
" Feast " in liturgical use is to reserve the latter for days in 
honour of Our Lord, with special reference to the Celebra- 
tion of the Holy Feast of the Lord's Supper on those 
days, though by no means restricting its use thereto. 

Of days of FASTING AND ABSTINENCE there are 
appointed ninety-six, thus devoting, with those of Feast 
and Festival, one-half of the entire Year to specific Chris- 
tian thought and observance. The remaining days of the 
Year are termed Ferial days (or days of non-appointment). 
The solemn days of Fasting are two : Ash Wednesday, 
which ushers in the great Lenten Season, and Good Fri- 
day, the anniversary of the Crucifixion. The ninety -four 
other days " on which the Church requires such a measure 
of abstinence as is more especially suited to extraordinary 
acts and exercises of devotion," are the remaining thirty- 
eight week-days of Lent (as Sunday is never other than a 
Feast day); the twelve Ember-days (or Days preceding the 
four Ordination Seasons); the three spring Rogation-days 
(for blessings on the fruits of the earth); and the remaining 
forty-one Fridays of the Year, on which is the ordinary 
week-day Service of the Church (not including Christmas, 
if occurring on that day). Neither on these week-days nor 
at other times will thoughtful Church people allow them- 
selves to be diverted from the appointed Services of the 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 



143 



Church by amusements or social engagements. In such 
limited localities as is still observed an annual Spring Fast 
appointed by the State, this day may be added, though 
its necessity is entirely annulled by our own Spring Fast 
of forty days. In these cases the Civil Authority should 
at least appoint its annual Fast on Good Friday — a day 
hallowed to all Christians of every name, in virtue of the 
Redeemer's sufferings. 

A table of all the Holy-days which make up the Church 
Year is a part of the prefatory matter of the Prayer Book, 
where also Proper Scripture Lessons for all, and Proper 
Psalms for sixteen of them are provided. The Opening 
Sentences in the Daily Service include special selections 
for the greater Days and Seasons. The undesigned 
coincidences of these various oracles with special occa- 
sions in the history of the Church and of individuals 
is of frequent experience. The character of these Days, 
as regards their date in the secular calendar, i. e., whether 
movable or immovable, has been denned in the chapter 
on this preliminary matter. For each of them a Collect, 
Epistle and Gospel is provided, and for the five greater 
Feasts a Proper Preface ; and these constitute their dis- 
tinctive characteristic as a part of the Communion Office. 
Between all three there is often (indeed, generally) a 
close connection to be found in their strain of thought 
or doctrinal teaching ; and the Lessons, though of later 
appointment, are generally found to harmonize ; less 
especially so during the Trinity Season, which is not his- 
torically arranged. The Epistle and Gospel are to the 
Communion Office what the Lessons are to the Daily Ser- 
vice ; the reading of Holy Scripture having always been 



14-4 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



an integral part of the former. The place of the reading 
of Collect, Epistle and Gospel in that Office is immediately 
following the Decalogue and Our Lord's Summary of the 
Law. A wealth of illustrative teaching, both practical 
and dogmatic, is contained in them, which can often be 
only suggested by a single topic named as peculiar to a 
given Sunday or Holy-day. 

The English Church has a well-defined system of Eves 
and Vigils for the major part of the Year's Holy-days. 
This primitive custom, while not specifically promulgated, 
is distinctly recognized in the introductory rubric, per- 
mitting the use of the Collect without borrowing any- 
thing further, on the evening before any Sunday or other 
Feast for which it is appointed. It is to be noted that the 
Sunday Collect, Epistle and Gospel govern the week fol- 
lowing, or until they are dominated by some greater Day, 
as is directed in the Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, 
Ash Wednesday and Ascension rubrics. The term Octave 
is applied to the eighth day (both inclusive) following the 
greater Feasts of Christmas, Easter, Ascension and Whit- 
sunday, at which times special features of the Service are 
often repeated ; and the period included is said to be 
" within the octave." 

Frequently a Holy-day falls on a Sunday, as many of 
them are immovable (or invariable on a fixed day of 
the month), like Christmas Day. Advent Sunday may 
thus coincide with St. Andrew's Day, or Easter Day with 
the Annunciation. In these cases the Sunday is gen- 
erally superior and its Service takes precedence, because 
Sunday is of divine origin and each Sunday is a minor 
Easter (and therefore not properly called the " Sabbath "); 



THE CHRISTIAN TEAR. 



145 



but this precedence does not always obtain, especially 
where it is merely a numbered Sunday. The Service for 
any Saint's-day in the Trinity Season should supersede 
that for the Sunday with which it concurs, and a logical 
and well-arranged Table of precedence exists which should 
be always observed. 

The ecclesiastical colours appropriate to the principal 
Seasons, though not prescribed as a National use, are, for 
the crowning Festival Seasons of Christmas and Easter, 
white, and the same for the Day at Epiphany, Ascension, 
Trinity and Transfiguration, together with St. John the 
Evangelist, St. Paul, Purification, Annunciation, St. John 
Baptist and Michaelmas ; for Whitsuntide and the name- 
days of martyrs, red, the color of flame ; for the Peni- 
tential Seasons of Lent and Advent, and the Ember and 
Rogation Days, violet (for Good Friday, black) ; for the 
Epiphany and Trinity Seasons, green, the note of life and 
nature. The adornment of the Sanctuary and vestments 
should always be in unison with the sacred time ; and the 
Chancel should be superior to the Nave in the elements 
of light and colour. 

A word as to Collect, Epistle and Gospel, separately con- 
sidered. The Collect for the Day is the only variable Prayer 
in the Communion Office. Besides those Collects which 
occur in the Daily and Occasional Offices, there are ninety- 
six associated with an Epistle and Gospel, implying thereby 
the full Service of the Holy Communion. Most of these 
were originally in Latin, and very ancient, only about a 
score being composed in English. The chief collections of 
ancient prayers, known as Sacramentaries, whence our Col- 
lects are derived, are those of Leo L,420A.D.; of Gelasius, 

(10) 



146 



THE CHURCH IN THE PR AT EM BOOK. 



494 A. D.; and of Gregory the Great, 604 A. D. The later 
compilations of the Reformation period have contributed 
a few, but nearly all those in the Daily Service are to be 
found in the Sacramentary of Gelasius, while three- fourths 
of those having an Epistle and Gospel are derived from 
that of Gregory through the Missal of Sarum. 

Few of the Collects in the Epiphany, Lenten and Trini- 
ty Seasons are less than 1400 years old. Some English 
words in them have altered in significance since their 
translation, as "let and hindered," " prevent and follow." 
" Let " originally meant "opposed," and "prevent" signi- 
fied to "go before." Being adjuncts of the Communion 
Office, Collects are generally offered to the Father, and the 
address and conclusion of each will be found to harmonize 
on a distinct and liturgical plan. Notable instances of 
varied perfection of form are found in that for Whitsun- 
day and the first Collect (for Purity) in the Communion 
Office proper (both from St. Gregory), and also that for 
the sixth Sunday after Epiphany, by Bishop Cosin, 1662 
A. D. 

In the Epistles and Gospels the typology of the Old Testa- 
ment is often astonishingly brought out and emphasized 
by prototype and antitype. The English version of both 
was originally that of Cranmer's Bible, but since the Savoy 
Conference from that of King James. Both were compiled 
in the fourth century by St. Jerome, the translator of the 
Vulgate. They were never spaced by chapter and verse, 
the former style of Scriptural subdivision being that of Car- 
dinal Hugo in the thirteenth century, and the latter that of 
Rabbi Nathan and Robert Stephens in the fifteenth and 
sixteenth. The Epistle was at first called " the Apostle," 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 147 



as it was almost invariably from the letters of St. Paul. 
In the early Western Church forty-six of them were from 
his writings and only twelve from others. Sometimes some 
other portion of Scripture than the writings of Apostles 
is appointed " for the Epistle," as from the Book of Acts, 
the Revelation, and (though rarely) even from the Old 
Testament. The selections which compose the Gospels are 
taken with substantial impartiality from St. Matthew, who 
wrote to the Jews ; St. Luke, who presents the sacrificial 
aspect of Our Lord's work ; and St. John, who brings out 
its sacramental teaching. There is least from St. Mark, 
whose memoirs are more of a personal character. Nine of 
the Gospels are taken from Christ's intercessory Prayer 
before the Institution of the Holy Eucharist. As a whole, 
the Gospels for the Year narrate substantially the whole 
history of the earthly life of the Son of God. 

There are always, from their very nature, four Sundays 
in Advent, six in Lent, five after Easter and one after As- 
cension. But since Easter Day, on which they nearly all 
depend, has the possible range of the March full-moon, or 
from March 22d to April 25th, there must be a flexible 
adjustment in the length of the two remaining Seasons, 
Epiphany near the beginning and Trinity at the end of the 
Year. Accordingly, when Easter comes early, there are 
fewer Sundays after Epiphany to precede Lent, and more 
Sundays after Trinity to make up the latter half of the 
Year. There are six possible Sundays of the former class, 
and twenty-seven of the latter. The rubric at the end of 
the Sundays after Trinity indicates how their Services shall 
be adapted. With few exceptions the Saints' Day Offices 
are placed in their order after the Dominical part of the 



143 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Christian Year (or that associated with Our Lord himself as 
occurring on His Day or otherwise); and are there to be 
sought out for insertion, like the others, as they occur. 

The Year opens with the First Sunday in ADVENT, 
always the nearest Sunday to St. Andrew's Day (November 
30th), thus honoured as that of the first Disciple and home 
Missionary. For this reason the cause of Domestic Missions 
is assigned special consideration at this time. The Sun- 
day may range from November 27th to December 3d. The 
Greek Church begins the Year with St. Martin's Day 
(November 11th), thus prefacing Christmas Day, like Eas- 
ter, with an Advent of forty days, called St. Martin's Lent. 
The celebration of Our Lord's earthly birth is preceded 
with us by the four weeks during which we dwell in order 
on His four Comings, i. e., His first and last coming in Per- 
son ; His coming in His Word; through His Ministry ; and 
by the power of the Holy Ghost. Its Second and Third Sun- 
days are devoted respectively to a special consideration of 
the Holy Scriptures and of the Apostolic Ministry. 

The Christian Year, like the Daily Service, has thus 
its penitential preface. Its first Collect, repeated with 
those of the other three, arouses us like a trumpet-call ; 
and we are summoned, as another phase of thought for 
these Sundays in Advent, to consider the intense reality 
to ourselves of the four " last things " which concern 
every mortal, i. e., Death, Judgment, Hell and Heaven. 
The time should be one of serious reflection and of an out- 
ward devotion altogether too little manifested by Church 
people ; and, like Lent, it is often employed for days 
of retirement and revival of spiritual fervour, and for the 
work of Parochial Missions. During this Season, on the 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 



149 



Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after December 13th, 
fall the quarterly Ember-days preceding a time of Ordi- 
nation. 

CHRISTMAS is the time of Christ's first appearing, as 
Michaelmas means the time for commemorating St. Mich- 
ael and All Angels. The precise date of the Nativity is 
perhaps uncertain, but immemorial custom establishes the 
validity of the assignment. Before the last quarter of 
the fourth century the East observed it in conjunction 
with the Epiphany, and December 25th was at that time 
settled upon by the Western Church. It is the great 
Feast of the Incarnation, of Christ's gracious Assumption 
of our nature, and hence of man's new-birth. Gracious 
as are the world's social amenities and the family joys of 
this season of good-will, the opening notes of the angels' 
song, " Glory to God in the highest " for His best gift, in 
Himself tabernacling " in substance of our flesh," should 
never become obscured, nor outward acts of devotion 
become relaxed at this hallowed time Nor should home 
pleasures dwarf the claims of the poor, the suffering, the 
sorrowing. The Church's adornment adds to flowers the 
wintry decorations of " the fir tree, the pine tree and the 
box together to beautify His sanctuary, and to make the 
place of His feet glorious." These adornments are re- 
tained through this and often through the Epiphany Sea- 
son. An additional Collect, Epistle and Gospel is pro- 
vided for permissive use at the earlier Celebration of the 
Holy Communion, in case two are held on this Day, as is 
common in large Parishes. 

Lagging last before Christ's coming, on December 21st is 
the Festival of St. Thomas the Doubter, with its prayer that 



150 



TEE CHURCH TX TEE PRATER BOOK. 



"our faith in God's sight may never be reproved." And 
following closely after Him, the first three consecutive 
days (December 26th, 27th and 28th) are those which 
appear in their juxtaposition as Dominical, the Days of 
St. Stephen the First Martyr, St. John the Beloved Disciple, 
and the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem. They are in this 
position because of Martyrdom, Love and Innocence; the 
first a martyr for Christ's sake both in will and deed, the 
second in will though not in deed, the third in deed but 
not in will. The latter Day is peculiarly appropriate for 
the Children's Parish Festival at this Season. With refer- 
ence to the three Days, Bacon says, " as prosperity was the 
blessing of the Old Testament, so adversity early signalized 
the Xew." There is generally but one Sunday between 
Christmas and Epiphany, at which time the Christmas 
Collect is repeated ; and it is also added to any other Ser- 
vice until the Circumcision. The teaching of this Sunday 
is "the adoption of sons," and that of the Circumcision, 
which concurs with New Year's Day, and is the Octave 
of Christmas (Jewish circumcision occurring on the eighth 
day after birth), is Self-examination. If a second Sunday 
occur in the Christmas Season, it takes this Service also, 
and the teaching of the whole Season is the Humanity of 
Our Lord, and His subjection to the infirmities of our 
nature. 

With EPIPHANY, the ancient Twelfth Day (January 

6th), the Christmas Season closes. The two Days have a 
close connection, and there is a tradition that Our Lord 
was baptized on an anniversary of the latter, which com- 
memorates His first Epiphany (or Manifestation) to the 
Wise Men of the Gentile world. This renders the Season 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 



151 



a fitting one for offerings to Foreign Missions, and still 
more so, as during its season (on January 25th) occurs 
St. PauVs Day (that of his miraculous Conversion — not of 
his death), which keeps prominently in mind the Calling 
of the Gentiles through this great Apostle. In the Greek 
Church Epiphany is given great emphasis as the " Day of 
Lights," and a vast array of them signalizes Christ as the 
Light of the World. How many and who the Magi or 
Wise Men were, whence they came and when, we are not 
told. Tradition has surrounded them with much of beau- 
tiful legend, and associates them as typical representatives 
of the three great primitive races of the earth, the descend- 
ants of Shem, Ham and Japheth, offering tribute to the 
Universal Prophet, Priest and King. 

The whole Epiphany Season sets forth Our Lord's 
Divinity, and recites many of His Theophanies (or Mani- 
festations of the God-head), as they are still called by the 
Greek Church. On the First Sunday is shown His obedi- 
ence in sacred things, and on the following ones consecu- 
tively, His power as Creator at His first miracle ; as Healer, 
in time of danger ; as Ruler of His Church ; and lastly, His 
final Epiphany and the object of them all. The Services 
for the Fifth and Sixth Sundays are often not reached in 
the yearly round, and the latter was not added until 1662. 
On the fortieth day after Christmas (February 2d), is the 
Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. It has 
been better known by its second title as the Purification 
of St. Mary the Virgin, and its teaching is Purity and 
Obedience. But it may well be doubted whether the 
Dominical side of its name as well as of its teaching should 
not take precedence. An old-time familiar name for the 



152 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



day is Candlemas, from the processions of candles with 
which it was formerly observed. It once marked the 
close of the Christmas Season ; and the emblem of the 
Star is that most generally associated with this earlier half 
of the historical section of the Year. 



XV. 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAE. 



" Almighty God, Who hast knit together Thine elect in 
one communion and fellowship, in the Mystical Body of Thy 
Son Christ Our Lord; grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed 
Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to 
those unspeakable joys which Thou hast prepared for those who 
unfeignedly love Thee." — The Collect for All Saints' Day. 

["ROM the Sunday following the Epiphany Season we 



\ no longer reckon from a Christmas standpoint, but 
the mind is led forward in anticipation to Easter, from 
which we are now removed by nine weeks, or nearly 
seventy days ; hence the old Latin numeral Septuagesima, 
or seventieth. The succeeding Sundays are styled Sexa- 
gesima and Quinquagesima, or sixtieth and fiftieth, from a 
like manner of reckoning, in the latter case exact. Nothing 
corresponds to them in the Eastern Church. Possibly 
each may have anciently begun Lent when different rules 
obtained ; and the early shadows of that Season now begin 
to fall. The first of these Sundays dwells on man's Guilt, 
the second on Trust in God, and the last on the crowning 
grace of Charity. With Shrove Tuesday, the second day 
following Quinquagesima, ends the Carnival (or u fare- 
well to flesh") of papal countries, and Lent is ushered 
in with Ash Wednesday, which ranges in different years 
from February 4th to March 10th. 




153 



154 TEE CEURCE IN TEE PRATER BOOK. 



The meaning of LENT is " Spring,' 1 the term being of 
Anglo-Saxon origin. It has been observed as the Church's 
great season of fasting, abstinence, prayer and retirement, 
from Ash Wednesday to Easter Even, since the days of 
Gregory the Great. The Eastern Church begins it two 
days earlier. These dates include forty-six days ; but the 
six Sundays are not penitential. The forty hours of the 
Saviour's Rest in the grave are here expanded into Forty 
Days of spiritual revival and preparation for the great 
Feast of the Resurrection, taking pattern from His own 
fasting and temptation in the wilderness, and from the 
forty days' preparation for the Jewish Day of Atonement. 
The lessons it has to teach are those of sincere penitence, 
rigorous self-discipline and special devotion. The measure 
and method of individual self-treatment are nowhere pre- 
scribed ; they lie with the personal conscience and under 
the eye of the Searcher of all hearts. If consistent with 
profession, unsparing to self-love, charitable to others, and 
under the sought sanction of Divine ordinances, especially 
that of the Holy Eucharist, the result will be blessed in 
full measure. The Church's prescriptive Daily Service, if 
elsewhere perforce omitted, is here a reality, and should 
be accompanied by daily self-examination, frequent prayer 
and systematic devotional reading. The spirit of the 
Season should certainly deter from marriages or any other 
form of social gayety or public recreation during its con- 
tinuance. Individual self-denial gains a double value and 
effectiveness, if its results take the tangible form of a vol- 
untary offering to be laid on the Church's Altar on Easter 
Day. as some return, however inadequate, for our manifold 
blessings. 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 



155 



After its First Sunday, sometimes called Quadragesima 
(or the fortieth day before Easter), comes the second of 
the four quarterly Ember Seasons, regularly appointed for 
Ordinations since Leo the Great ; the term implying a " cir- 
cuit. " No Altar-Service is provided, but special Prayers 
are used in the Daily Service, each day during the week. 
During the Lenten Season generally fall St Matthias' Day 
(February 25th), which makes prominent the need of 
" faithful and true pastors ;" and the Festival of the An- 
nunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes called 
Lady-day, which once began the secular year, and whose 
lesson is the glory of Purity and Humility, beautifully 
symbolized by the Lily. 

The teaching of Ash Wednesday is Contrition, and its 
name is a survival of the literal abasement of penitents in 
dust and ashes. In the English Book is a Service of Com- 
mination (or denunciation), for this Day, from which is 
compiled our Penitential Office, printed separately after the 
Occasional Thanksgivings, and to be used at Morning 
Prayer at the close of the Litany, with rubrical permission 
for its use elsewhere at discretion. Beginning while still 
kneeling with the solemn Miserere, or 51st Psalm (which, 
with the Proper Psalms for the Day, make up the Seven 
Penitential Psalms), there follow the Kyrie, Lord's Prayer 
and Versicles (unless the Minor Litany has been already 
said), and then the time-honoured contrite Supplications 
for pardon and grace, and the antiphonal Confession, drawn 
almost entirely from penitential petitions in the Old Testa- 
ment, and closing with the Aaronic (a precatory) blessing. 
The Collect for the Day is to be repeated with others every 
day in Lent. At this time it is customary in most Parishes 



156 THE CHURCH IK THE PRAYER BOOK. 



to issue Lenten Service-cards and Pastoral addresses, sum- 
moning to greater frequency and concentration of devotion. 
Such constant gathering together of devout souls should 
cement strongly the ties which come of kindred spiritual 
interests. 

The first three Sundays dwell on the purpose of fasting, 
on God as our Protector, and on the Christian's defence. 
The Fourth is called Midlent, and Refreshment Sunday, as 
its Gospel relates the story of the Feeding of the multi- 
tude. An ancient term is Mothering Sunday, from the 
custom of visiting and making offerings in the Mother- 
Parish Church. The Fifth is called Passion Sunday, and 
the succeeding week Passion Week, for here we begin to 
enter more closely into the story of Our Lord's Passion, 
as with Him " we go up to Jerusalem " to witness His last 
conflict. The Sixth is called the Sunday next before 
Easter, but more familiarly Palm Sunday, as the day of 
His triumphal entrance into the Holy City, where He is 
soon to suffer. Palm branches may well be the Chancel 
adornment on this Day, whose Service is the longest of the 
Year. With it begin the Gospel narratives of the events 
of the Holy Week which it opens, as they are told in the 
Lessons and Gospels that together give consecutively the 
entire narrative of all the Evangelists. Each Day of 
the Week has its own Epistle and Gospel, implying a 
daily Celebration of the Holy Communion, the first four 
using the Palm Sunday Collect, but Good Friday and 
Easter Even having Collects of their own as well. The 
teaching of Monday may be said to be Redemption ; of 
Tuesday and Wednesday, Sacrifice (Our Lord was betrayed 
on Wednesday) ; and of Thursday, the Holy Eucharist ; 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 



157 



the latter being the day of its original Commandment, and 
hence called from ancient times Maundy Thursday (or the 
day of the Mandate). 

The beautiful name Good Friday is peculiar to the 
Anglican Church, it having been formerly called the Day 
of the Cross. It is the strictest Fast of the Year, as we 
approach, with reverence and humility, the awful spec- 
tacle of the Crucifixion of the Saviour of Mankind. Its 
Collects are three, for the Church and the congregation 
(" this Thy family"), for all estates of men within it, and 
for those without the pale of its blessings ; naming with 
great tenderness and earnestness the four classes, " Jews, 
Turks, infidels and heretics," or worshippers of the One 
God, of false gods or none, and those who have lost some- 
thing of the Church's original Faith and Order. It is 
customary to apply offerings made at this Service to the 
work among the Jews. On this day alone, in the Year, in 
spite of its having Collect, Epistle and Gospel, there has 
been no Holy Communion during the greater part of the 
history of the Western Church. The reason is that such 
a festal Service is out of harmony with the solemnity of 
the time, and improper except in emergency ; for, " when 
the Truth itself is come, its figure should cease." 

In the place thereof, after the Prayer-Book Service, is 
very often used, though without prescription, what is known 
as a "Three Hours' Service" of devout meditation and 
prayer, with or without music, on the Last Seven Words 
from the Cross, occupying the hours from twelve to three. 
The last day of the Forty is Easter Even, which commemo- 
rates Our Lord's Descent into Hell, and which was called in 
the early Church " the Great Sabbath," or Day of Rest in 



158 . THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



the grave. Its teaching of " burial with Christ by Bap- 
tism " has always made it a day for special observance of 
that Sacrament, and particularly for its Administration to 
children. 

EASTER DAY is well styled the " Queen of Feasts." 
It speaks eloquently of the three Resurrections ; that of 
Our Saviour Christ, and through Him that of our own 
spiritual life, and the final Resurrection of all flesh. The 
devout presence of communicants at the Altar on this 
day should show no vacancies save those occasioned by 
necessity. Disputes early arose between the Eastern and 
Western Church as to its precise date, the Eastern hold- 
ing to the third day after the fourteenth of the Jewish 
month Nisan, or the anniversary of the exact day of the 
Resurrection, and the Western placing it on the nearest 
Lord's Day ; the latter being finally settled upon at the 
Council of Nicea. The Anglo-Saxon word Easter means 
" Rising," of which bright Flowers and Eggs have always 
been the emblems. In Oriental lands the Day still goes 
by the name of Lampa, or "the bright Day," and Orien- 
tal Christians hail each other on this morning with the 
salutation " Christ is risen." 

Like Christmas, though with a heightened spiritual 
significance, it has its tender household and neighbourly 
rejoicings, as well as its Festival Service for all the children 
of the Parish. Its original name was Pascha, which then 
embraced Good Friday also, meaning the Passover Season ; 
and the word still survives in the term Paschal, applied 
to the Paschal Supper, the Paschal Lamb, etc. The Day 
(it should not be called Easter -Sunday) has the honour of 
a special Anthem taken from the words of St. Paul, in the 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 



159 



place of the Venite at Morning Prayer ; and also, with 
Christmas Day, that of an additional permissive Collect, 
Epistle and Gospel for an early Celebration, if there be 
two. Its Old Testament Lessons are also interchangeable 
at Morning and Evening Prayer. It gives its first Col- 
lect to the two days following, called Monday and Tuesday 
in Easter- week, each of which has an Epistle and Gospel of 
its own, continuing the story of the Resurrection in the 
narrative of the risen Appearances of Our Lord given by 
St. Luke. Easter Monday is generally the close of the 
financial Parochial year, and the lay Parish officers are 
this day chosen, each Diocese prescribing by canon the 
qualifications of voters. It is also, unhappily, the close of 
many rectorships. The added fervency of Lenten devo- 
tion should by no means be now allowed to suffer sudden 
eclipse by the rude shock and pressure of worldly excite- 
ment and diversion. 

The festal time which follows and constitutes EASTER- 
TIDE is known as the Great Forty Days, and commemo- 
rates the truths of the Risen Life. Its First Sunday is 
called by the Greek Church New Sunday, and familiarly by 
us Low Sunday, as the Octave of Easter and reflecting in a 
lesser degree its glories. Its subject is Purity, and that of 
the four which follow it is respectively Christ our Exam- 
ple, Consistency, the Christian's Anchorage, and Heavenly 
Inspiration. The teaching and Commission of Our Lord 
to His disciples at this period as to the establishment of 
the Apostolic Church after His departure are dwelt upon ; 
as well as the anticipation of the Ascension and of the 
Comforter. The Second Sunday is sometimes called that 
of the Good Shepherd, from its Gospel, and the Fifth is 



160 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



called Rogation- Sunday, as preceding the Rogation- days, and 
from the character of its Gospel. These days (the three 
before Ascension) were once attended with much ceremo- 
nial by Litanies and Processions made about the Parish 
bounds in England, imploring the Divine blessing on the 
growing crops. No special form is now provided except 
two among the Occasional Prayers of the Daily Service. 

ASCENSION DAY is sometimes called Holy Thursday, 
and its lesson is Heavenly-mindedness, as taught in its 
beautiful Collect. It is a shame to Christians that this great 
Feast of the Church has fallen into such neglect in receiving 
the honour so justly its due. The cares and distractions of 
a modern week-day have brought about a sore falling-away 
from the dignity of primitive observance. On this Day 
the Crown is the special emblem of Him Who is the King 
of Glory. The Sunday following is sometimes called Ex- 
pectation-Sunday, and has been characterized as the loneliest 
Sunday in the Calendar, while the expectant Church, bereft 
of her Lord, " waits for the promise of the Comforter." 
Between Easter and Whitsunday generally come St. Mark's 
Day (April 25th), and St Philip and St James Day (May 
1st), the former inculcating Steadfastness and the latter 
Endurance in the Christian Life. In their combined com- 
memoration (the Greek Church separates them), St. Philip 
stands for knowledge and St. James (the Less) for its prac- 
tical application, both of which are sought in the Collect. 

The derivation of the word WHITSUNDAY, the Chris- 
tian Pentecost, is uncertain ; probably from the " white " 
robes of the newly baptized on this day of the Outpouring 
of the Holy Spirit. The Birthday of the Christian Church, 
it stands as the marked antitype of the giving of the Law 



THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 



161 



on Mount Sinai, with which the Mosaic economy was in- 
augurated, and which the Jews associated with the " Feast 
of the first-fruits " on this Day, the fiftieth after the Pass- 
over. Second only to Christmas and Easter, it is followed 
by Monday and Tuesday in Whitsun-week, to which it lends 
its Collect, but which have an Altar Service of their own, 
presenting Our Lord as the Light of the World and the 
Good Shepherd. 

TRINITY SUNDAY is the consummate flower of the 
Christian Year, gathering into itself all the rays which 
emanate from the Triune Godhead ; and it most appropri- 
ately closes its historical and doctrinal portion with the 
supreme honour paid to the Trinity in Unity. The Eastern 
Church does not observe it as such, and there it has always 
been called the "Feast of all the Martyrs. " With that Church 
the first half of the Year closes with Whitsunday, and the 
following Sundays are numbered " after Pentecost." Trin- 
ity Sunday is purely of Western observance, the change 
having been made in the seventh century, and its earliest 
use in England being by Becket in 1162 A. D. As the 
courses of preparatory theological training close at this time 
of the year, it is the Church's third and principal Ordina- 
tion Season, ranging in date from May 17th to June 20th, 
the three days previous being the Whitsun Ember-days. 
Its teaching is of Heaven and the New Birth, and though 
on the Octave of Whitsunday, it has a peculiar glory and 
independence of its own. 

The latter half of the Year, or the long TRINITY 
SEASON, now begins, counting its Sundays numerically, 
and ending always with the Sunday next before Advent. 

Mediaeval and Eastern Churches have formal names for 

(ii) 



162 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



many of them. They form a rich variety, bat adhere to 
a fixed system. Their Epistles are nearly all taken from 
St. Paul. The following table gives some of the distinct- 
ive phases of their teaching, though this does not claim 
to be more than suggestive, other truths being also promi- 
nent in their Epistles and Gospels : 

1. Grace and obedience. 13. True service. 

2. Fear and love. 14. Faith, hope and charity. 

3. The desire to pray. 15. God's keeping. 

4. Things temporal and eter- 16. The Church's defence. 

nal. 17. Prevenient grace. 

5. Peace without and within. 18. The good fight. 

6. God's love to man and 19. Without God, no pleasing. 

man's to God. 20. Cheerful obedience. 

7. The Author and Giver. 21. Pardon and peace. 

8. Divine providence. 22. Continual godliness. 

9. Divine grace. 23. Asking and obtaining. 

10. Successful prayer. 24. Absolution. 

11. God's power in mercy. Next before Advent. Awak- 

12. The Giver and Forgiver. ening. 

The Seventh has been called the Sunday of Nutrition, 
from its Gospel, which is repeated on the Fourth in Lent 
and the Next before Advent. The Twelfth is familiarly 
known as Ephphatha Sunday, from its Gospel ; and it is 
common to make offerings for charities to deaf-mutes at 
this time. An old name for the last is " Stir-up " Sunday, 
from the arousing spirit of its Collect in warning of the 
coming Advent time. 

Within Trinity Season fall most of the minor Holy-days. 
St Barnabas' Day (June 11th), speaks of Gifts and their 
uses, and St John Baptist's Day (June 24th), of Courage. 
Looking to his nativity rather than to his death, St. John's 
Day is set at the antipodes of Christmas. The days in- 



THE CHRISTIAN TEAR. 



163 



crease in length from Our Lord's Anniversary, but decrease 
from that of His forerunner, in harmony with the Bap- 
tist's own declaration concerning himself. St. Peter's Day 
(June 29th), was originally held now in conjunction with 
that of St. Paul. Its Collect upon Pastors and flocks is re- 
peated in the Ordinal, at the Consecration of Bishops. St 
James the Apostle, whose Day is July 25th, stands for Renun- 
ciation ; and the Feast of the Transfiguration, a Dominical 
day, held after the close of His earthly history, shadows 
forth the glorified Humanity of Our Divine Master. The 
English Church has no Altar-Service for this Day, whose 
striking teaching was long unacknowledged by the West- 
ern Church except as a " black-letter day." Its Collect is 
exquisitely beautiful. St Bartholomew was apparently 
Nathanael, and his Day (August 24th), speaks of Believ- 
ing and Preaching the Word ; while St Matthew's Day 
(September 21st), dwells on Treasures in Heaven ; both 
with peculiar appropriateness. The Autumnal Ember- 
days of the Year occur in the week after September 12th ; 
each of the four Seasons has thus its Ordination periods, 
and each month has its Holy-days. 

On St Michael and All Angels' Day (September 29th), 
familiarly known as Michaelmas, is portrayed the Angelic 
Ministry, with the touching reference to little children in its 
Gospel. The soul's medicine is besought on October 18th, 
the Day of St. Luke, the beloved physician. On October 
28th comes another pair of the Apostles, " sent forth two 
and two," St Simon the Zealot, and St Jude, whose surname 
was Thaddeus (the Greek Church separates them) ; and 
its Collect speaks of the spiritual and Apostolic Temple 
which they lived and died to rear. About A. D. 610, at 



164 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



the dedication of the heathen Pantheon at Rome as a Chris- 
tian Church, was first set forth the closing Holy-day of the 
Church's Year, All Saints' Day; whose Gospel is the Beati- 
tudes, and whose Collect and Epistle speak of the Final 
Blessedness which awaits all " them that unfeignedly love " 
their Lord. The roll of communicants in the Parish who 
have passed into Paradise during the Year is often read at 
this Service. By the teaching of the last four of the greater 
Holy-days of the Church's Year (Trinity, Transfiguration, 
Michaelmas and All Saints), we are fairly carried away 
from earthly associations into the realm of things unspeak- 
able. 

The familiar emblems associated with the Apostles and 
Martyrs of the Calendar are various, and generally indicate, 
figuratively or otherwise, the weapon or mode by which each 
is supposed to have suffered ; as the Sword for St. Paul, the 
inclined Cross for St. Andrew, and the Serpent in the poi- 
soned Cup for St. John. The four Evangelists are denoted by 
such symbols as designate the characteristics of their re- 
spective Gospels. St. Matthew is typified by the Lion, as he 
wrote to the Jews of whom Our Lord was " the Lion of the 
tribe of Judah"; St. Mark by a Man, as treating of Our 
Lord's more personal history ; St. Luke by the Ox, as that 
Evangelist emphasizes His sacrificial work for our redemp- 
tion ; and St. John, whose inspiration mounts up on lofti- 
est pinions into the regions of the ineffable, by the Eagle. 
St. Paul is also sometimes represented by a Church build- 
ing, and St. Peter by a bunch of Keys, as indicating their 
great constructive work. Six simple forms of the Cross 
are familiar : the Latin, the Greek or St. George's, the 
Maltese, the St. Andrew's, the Tau (named from its resem- 



TEE CERISTIAJX YEAR. 



165 



blance to the Greek letter of that name), and the Chi-Rho, 
or Cross of Constantine, a monogram of the first two Greek 
letters of the name Christ. 

One other Festival remains to be noted, that of Thanks- 
giving Day, as appointed by the National and State author- 
ity late in November and generally on its last (though 
formerly on its first) Thursday. There is no such Service 
in the English Book, which, however, has a form of Prayer 
and Thanksgiving for the anniversary of the Accession of 
the sovereign ; while ours still lacks one for Independence 
Day. It is a time of special family and neighbourly rejoic- 
ing, and its Service, printed by itself near the beginning of 
the Psalter, dwells very largely on the material blessings of 
God's providence. The Opening Sentences are from the 
Old Testament, and the Anthem (in place of the Venite) 
is a part of the 147th Psalm. It has Proper Lessons, and a 
form of Special Thanksgiving to be used after the General 
one ; and its Altar-Service emphasizes the practical duties 
and virtues of every-day life. The decorations of the Chan- 
cel should be from the representative fruits of the earth, 
the chief of which are those divinely appointed for spiritual 
Consecration in the Holy Eucharist. In some localities, 
though not prescribed, a Harvest Home Service is held at 
an earlier date (and none is so appropriate as Michael- 
mas); accompanied as here by a distribution of nature's 
bounties to those who have the less cause for Thanksgiv- 
ing. 



XVI. 



THE HOLY COMMUNION. 

" An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual 
grace given unto us ; ordained by Christ Himself, as a means 
whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us there- 
of"— The Catechism. 

" Almighty God, unto Whom all hearts are open, all desires 
known, and from Whom no secrets are hid ; cleanse the 
thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spir it, 
that we may perfectly love Thee, and worthily magnify Thy 
Holy Name, through Christ Our Lord." — The Collect for 
Purity. 

n^HAT which in her doctrinal aspect preeminently dis- 
tinguishes the Church from all Protestant bodies of 
Christians is the prominence and emphasis that she at- 
taches to her sacramental teaching; and the exalted honour 
which she pays to the Two Sacraments of Our Lord's own 
appointment, which are from their very nature the " exten- 
sion of the Incarnation," or the mode of the indwelling of 
Christ in His visible Body. The significance of Baptism, 
as the sacred rite once for all administered and the door 
of Christian entrance, is reserved for its proper treatment 
as the first of the Occasional Offices. We are now to con- 
sider at length the meaning of the Holy Eucharist, the 
only continual service of worship of Christ's own formal 
injunction, the Sacrament of perpetual obligation " till He 



THE HOLT COMMUNION. 



167 



The word " sacramentum " is that which describes the 
military oath taken by the legions of Ancient Rome. Its 
" outward sign " was then the lifting of the right hand and 
the given pledge ; its " inward grace " was loyalty. The 
same sacramental principle runs through all nature ; the 
visible object is the sign or token of the subjective truth, 
whether spiritual or otherwise. A Sacrament is a mystery, 
because it relates to the mystery of Life, and all life is a 
mystery. He to whom mystery is a stumbling-block log- 
ically recoils from the mystery of his own bodily functions, 
whose working is ill understood after all the ages since 
their original creation. Much more mysterious, because 
higher in its import, is the union between the tangible 
body and the intangible soul of man. But most mysterious 
of all is the blending of body and soul, of humanity with 
divinity, in the Person of the world's Redeemer, and of 
the spiritual union of our frail, sinful, mortal natures with 
the Perfect and Sinless One in the ordinances of His Own 
command. And the greatest evil of such a false doctrine 
as that of Trans ubstantiation is that it is a purely human 
and therefore a grossly misleading attempt to solve an 
insoivable Mystery. 

As the Holy Communion is ordained for all who will, 
both learned and ignorant, rich and poor together, the 
only requirement as to its mental apprehension is a simple 
yet lively faith. In the old homely phrase — 
" What Christ the Word doth make it, 
That I believe and take it." 

There is indeed great need of reverence but no room for 
superstition. The result of too great effort at mere intel- 
lectual apprehension is that the Sacrament of Christ's love 



168 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



and of Christian Brotherhood has often proved the chief 
subject of contention between Christians ; and the central 
Act of Worship has unhappily become the central and 
fruitful cause of strife. True sacramental doctrine is sim- 
ply the truth of Scripture, and wherever that is properly 
apprehended, there the sacramental system extends its 
healing influence, and works its fruits in the lives of its 
votaries through the increased frequency and reverence of 
its reception. 

As the Bible carries us to the beginnings of the human 
race, so the teachings of the Liturgy take us back to the 
dawn of Christianity, and beyond it into the elder and 
prefigurative symbolism of the Hebrew Dispensation. No 
other channels of grace have been ordained to obscure the 
preeminent position which the Sacraments occupy, and 
none other, however potent, can do their beneficent work. 
And the Gospel has not clashing truths but counter 
truths, each supplementing the other. Another has said, 
" The work and mission of the Holy Ghost is to make 
Christ's work perfect, by Baptism, by the Holy Commun- 
ion, by sealing up Christ's testimony for the Church's 
guidance. Sacramentalism alone is the body without the 
soul, a sin against Christ ; while Evangelicalism alone is 
the soul without the body, a sin against the Holy Ghost, 
Neither Church nor Sacraments have any heavenly power 
apart from Christ." 

The primal necessity that Christ's Body and Blood 
should have been ordained as a healing Food is not re- 
vealed ; but certain it is that His human Nature which is 
perfect, in constantly sustaining our sinful natures, will also 
heal their imperfections. In this view His death alone is 



THE HOLT COMMUNION. 



169 



insufficient without the continual intervention of the Holy- 
Ghost through a sacramental medium. And the outward 
signs or symbols of this intervention are those of the 
common food and common drink of all mankind. 

There are many types of the Holy Eucharist in the Old 
Testament. The Tree of Life in the original Paradise of 
Eden, now forfeit, is to be " for the healing of the nations " 
at last, as said in the Book of the Revelation. The bread 
and wine brought forth by Melchizedek, " the priest of the 
most high God " ; the manna in the wilderness, styled 
angel's food and the bread from heaven ; the pure and 
unbloody offering of the Temple service, in the form of 
bread and wine, which accompanied every bloody sacri- 
fice, and which is typically named by Malachi (coupled 
with " incense " as emblematic of prayer) : these are all 
types of that blessed Food from Heaven, which is the Life 
of the world. And for that Food Our Lord Himself pre- 
pared the thoughts of His disciples by the miracle of the 
loaves and fishes, in His talk with the Samaritan woman at 
the well, and yet more in the parable of Himself as the 
True Vine of which they and we are the branches, because 
we derive life and nourishment from Him alone. There are 
in the universe three memorials of the One Great Sacrifice : 
the Sacrificial System of the Old Testament, the Sacra- 
mental System of the New Dispensation, and the Eternal 
Worship of Heaven. 

When a liturgical office for the Holy Eucharist was 
first framed is not definitely known. Its integral and 
essential parts are the Breaking of the Bread, the Taking 
of the Cup and the Giving of Thanks before its Adminis- 
tration, in the words of Our Lord at its first Institution, 



170 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



with perhaps the Lord's Prayer and a Hymn of praise. 
This outline was soon rilled in by the primitive Bishops ; 
indeed, before the Apostles separated they were no doubt 
agreed on the essentials of an Eucharistic Office. The 
earliest known Liturgies show substantial uniformity, and 
at least one of these must have been known to St. Paul, as 
he quotes from that of St. James, " Eye hath not seen nor 
ear heard," etc. The four main groups of primitive Lit- 
urgies, those called after St. James, St. Mark, St. Peter 
and St. John, have been earlier described in the historical 
view of liturgical worship. 

The monk Augustine, sent by Bishop Gregory of Rome, 
found the latter (known as the Gallican, because derived 
through Gaul from Ephesus) in use in Britain ; and the 
First Book shows us its earliest structure in our language, 
from which structure the present English Book varies in 
some important particulars. At the first American revis- 
ion, in 1789, Bishop Seabury brought in the Scottish use 
from the Bishops of that branch of the Church whence he 
also derived his Episcopate. This form is a return in its 
main arrangement to the First Book, and is in that respect a 
great improvement on the English use. Practically no other 
change has been made since 1789. Viewed historically, the 
Liturgy is a work of singular charm in its construction ; 
and when the associations of memory and hallowed use 
are superadded, it becomes liKe a vast Cathedral echoing 
with orchestral symphonies to the eternal praise of the 
Triune God. 

The most comprehensive title of the Communion Office 
is that already used, THE DIVINE LITURGY. Though at 
first broadly and still accurately used for any ceremonial 



THE HOLY COMMUNION. 



171 



or ritual function, the latter word is employed in its strict 
meaning for the highest Service of all. The term is from 
the Greek "Liturgeia" which meant " a political service ren- 
dered by a few for the benefit of the many," suggesting 
the Christian Priesthood. The purely civil character of its 
origin was no doubt the reason for its choice, as it in no wise 
brought haunting heathen associations into religion. The 
titles of the Divine Mysteries employed in the New Testa- 
ment are THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD, THE LORD'S 
SUPPER, and THE COMMUNION. Those since employed 
are THE LITURGY, THE MASS, and THE HOLY EU- 
CHARIST. In the Prayer Book the name of the Office is 
THE ORDER FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
LORD'S SUPPER, OR HOLY COMMUNION. 

During the earliest transition period of the Primitive 
Church while the Temple still remained, the Jewish con- 
verts daily attended its Services ; while " The Breaking of the 
Bread " was of equal frequency, but in the " upper room," 
a well known and common centre, wherein " they were all 
with one accord in one place." After the first fervour of 
devotion enkindled by their nearness in time to Our 
Lord's bodily Presence had somewhat subsided, a weekly 
observance on the Lord's Day and on the other Holy-days 
became the standard of Christian worship ; and in spite 
of all the historical variations in frequency during the 
centuries since, this appears the normal and habitual 
order, as it is the evident mind of the Church's formularies 
everywhere. 

Although the term " The Lord's Sapper " is still retained 
as part of the Prayer Book title of the Office, it has fallen 
out of use in churchly speech, and rightly so. It is strict- 



172 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



ly used only of that first Paschal Supper in which Our 
Lord shared before He suffered, and which was followed 
by the original Institution. Here was the meeting-place 
of the Elder and Later Dispensations, when the Holy 
Eucharist was ordained at the sunset of the Paschal System 
in the evening. Naturally a common meal (known as the 
Agape or Love-feast) grew up in connection with this 
Sacrament and preceding it, at which all communicants 
met on a social equality ; but gross abuses, such as intem- 
perance, irreverence and the like sprang up with it, which 
were sharply rebuked by St. Paul, when writing to the 
Corinthian Church. This caused the reversal of the order 
of observance and placed the Eucharist first ; but soon 
and of necessity they became separated and then the 
Agape was dropped entirely, as no longer to edification. 

It is evident that there was no argument from the hour 
of the original Institution, and that the proper time of 
observance was regulated, like so many other matters, by 
the Apostolic College. After this very early period even- 
ing Communions are practically unheard of, and their 
unsuitableness is admitted, as giving to the highest uses of 
worship the fag-end of the day, soiled with its sins and 
engrossed with its cares and pre-occupations. After the 
Reformation the title " the Lord's Supper " seems to have 
become a familiar one, and to have been a favorite with 
Calvin. By some occult influence it even crept into the 
first English Book, to it being added, " and the Holy Com- 
munion, commonly called the Mass." 

The term " The Mass" has long been closely associated 
with the corrupt teaching and practices of the Roman 
Church, and is little used except by her ; yet it was the 



THE HOLY COMMUNION. 



173 



prevailing title in the pure Western Church for centuries. 
Its origin is obscure, but the derivation is probably from 
the Latin "missa,"or dismissal, the Communion Service 
in the Roman Offices being called the Missal. An ancient 
custom was for the Priest to dismiss catechumens before the 
Service proper by the words " Ite, missa est," so that the 
signal for the beginning of this Service became its title. 
The Saxon "maesse," which survives in Christmas, has an 
entirely different meaning. 

The Holy Communion was invariably in the Primitive 
Church a morning Office, often before daybreak, as evi- 
denced by Tertullian, Cyprian and others. St. Basil, St. 
Chrysostom,and other Fathers of the Eastern Church, insist 
upon a fasting Communion, and this is confirmed by the 
decrees of Synods and Councils, including that of Carthage, 
which established the Canon of Scripture. The Western 
Church is equally strong upon this point, and St. Augus- 
tine above all urges that " the Holy Sacrament first enter 
Christian mouths before other food." The reception of 
the Communion at Holy Matrimony (still common in Eng- 
land), was obligatory under James I., in whose time the 
latter Office was restricted to the morning hours. The 
practice of non-fasting Communions grew up largely dur- 
ing the religious laxity and indifference of the eighteenth 
century. 

The two chief reasons for the primitive practice are, the 
proper preparation of and consequent profit to the partici- 
pant, and the greater honour thereby paid to the Sacrament 
itself. St. Augustine and the Roman Church lay special 
stress on the latter, and Rome refuses any relaxation of 
the rule, except to the dying. But where the recipient's 



174 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



good is sought, bodily infirmities, age, sickness, etc., should 
be considered, and no rigorous rule insisted upon. On 
the other hand, it is very much to be desired that the holy 
spirit of the early Church should be revived, to counter- 
act the manifold temptations of this age of luxury. If the 
coveted blessing is so great, surely self-denial but enhances 
its value, and a service which costs nothing is worth but 
little. 

The word " Communion " was not in early ages applied 
to the Liturgical Office. In the Acts it is rendered " fellow- 
ship," or community, and was used, as in a familiar sense 
now, for the whole Society of believers, as the Anglican 
Communion, the Greek, the Roman, etc. Excommunion 
then carried with it the loss of all religious privileges. 
Another primitive as well as modern use of the word ex- 
presses the act of participation, the central feature of the 
Office. And so we speak of " daily Communion," " weekly 
Communion," " Communion in both kinds," etc. The word 
itself, as distinguished from other descriptive titles of the 
Office, stands for the principle of the fellowship of man 
with God and with his fellow-men, and thus represents 
only a part of the whole doctrinal truth. It was original- 
ly symbolized by the Kiss of Peace, which was afterwards 
substituted by a symbolic tablet engraved with the cruci- 
fix and called the " Pax-bred," which was passed about at 
the Service to be kissed by all. 

A better, and the most expressive title for the Divine 
Mysteries is " The Holy Eucharist." Though not directly 
employed in the New Testament, it was a familiar term as 
early as the year 70 A. D., as shown by its use in the oldest 
Church manual extant, the " Teaching of the Twelve Apos- 



THE HOLY COMMUNION. 



175 



ties." The Greek word means " Thanksgiving," from Oar 
Lord's attitude as " He looked up to Heaven and gave 
thanks " before breaking the Bread. By the term " Com- 
munion " our thoughts are led more to human and divine 
fellowship and the subjective effect upon ourselves. All 
this might be if it were a simple memorial. But it is far 
more, and in the " Eucharist " a higher, yet inclusive, 
thought prevails — that of gratitude and thanksgiving for 
the benefits of redemption, and a re-presentation before 
the Father (not, God forbid, a re-enactment, nor a sub- 
stitution), of the great Sacrifice of Christ. And so the 
Fathers gave this title to the whole Service, as though 
synonymous with the Consecration feature, rather than 
with the Reception. 

The title is of great value as having no selfish or merely 
human aspect, and as expressive of deep gratitude for de- 
liverance from the bondage of sin. As Christ our Passover 
has been once sacrificed for us, we pray the Father to accept 
our bounden duty and service in this Holy Sacrament, as a 
real " sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving," and as an offer- 
ing of " ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, 
holy and living sacrifice " unto Him. In another aspect 
" the Eucharist is the great means whereby the Church, 
out of Heaven, shares in the propitiatory Sacrifice of Inter- 
cession forever offered in Heaven by Our Lord and Saviour." 
From this insight into the deeper and higher significance 
of the Service has come the use of the term " Celebration," 
as denoting any single use of this Sacramental Office. 

The Holy Eucharist is the outward expression of Inter- 
communion, and therefore of organic Church Unity. 
" When that is consummated, the Sacrament of contention 



176 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



will again be the Sacrament of peace, and Christians will 
be free to transform and subdue all to Christ." That there is 
a " priesthood of the laity " is indeed an indisputable truth. 
Every baptized believer may " offer up spiritual sacrifices 
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." The Jews were 
a nation of priests, chosen and separated from all other 
peoples. Yet even with them there was an inner circle 
jealously guarded, a threefold order* of High Priests, 
Priests and Levites, set apart by express Divine command, 
the sanctity of which was terribly vindicated in the pun- 
ishment of Korah's unwarranted intrusion, and of the 
thoughtless profanation of Uzzah. The principle of an 
earthly Priesthood was by no means abolished by the 
Great High Priest. The sacrificial system did not come 
to an end upon the Cross. They both survive under 
changed forms and conditions in the New Dispensation, 
and their perpetuation in this manner was foretold by the 
elder Prophets. 

The Hebrew Priest offered a typical sacrifice. The blood 
sprinkled upon the Altar pleaded an atonement for the 
soul, and the Priest gave back to the worshipper, as recon- 
ciled, the body of the slain victim. The Christian Priest 
offers a commemorative Sacrifice. The pure and unbloody 
Offering which he makes is a constant memorial of the 
One all-sufficient Oblation, and he gives to the communi- 
cant as the sustenance of eternal life, the spiritual Food of 
the Body and Blood of Christ. The Hebrew Priest also in- 
spected the leper, performed over him the ritual of purifica- 
tion, and pronounced him ceremonially clean. The Christian 
Priest has like authority in pronouncing, under proper 
conditions, the Declaration of Absolution from the leprosy 



THE HOLT COMMUNION. 



177 



of sin. It is abundantly proved in the facts of Christ's 
own ordination of His commissioned representatives, that 
the same august lips which pronounced " Do this in 
remembrance of Me," said also and with equal permanence 
of delegated power " Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are 
remitted unto them." 

" Christ is Himself the Priest in every Eucharist, and 
the Absolver in every Ministry of reconciliation." But 
His priestly power, though absolute, is delegated and vica- 
rious, and acts officially through a distinct Order of men. 
This Order is not a profession merely, but acts under the 
sacred principle of authority, receiving through its indi- 
vidual members, each once for all, its permanent commis- 
sion from above. The whole Church testifies with one 
voice to the reality of the Christian Priesthood in history. 
The reformers, as well as Sto Jerome, were wont to say, 
" No Priest, no Church," and the phraseology of the Book 
of Common Prayer sustains this principle. Rightly 
viewed, and divorced from the extravagances of sacerdo- 
talism, it is an abiding instrumentality of help and com- 
fort. If " God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity," 
what a solace and encouragement that He has mercifully 
condescended to commit His ministry to the abiding 
• agency of men mortal and erring like ourselves, yet author- 
ized to dispense His covenanted grace through appointed 
channels ! 



(12) 



XVII. 



THE HOLY COMMUNION. 



" The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that 
Christians ought to have among themselves one to another; 
but rather it is a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ's 
death: insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with 
faith, receive the same, the Bread which we break is a par- 
taking of the Body of Christ; and likewise the Cup of Bless- 
ing is a partaking of the Blood of Christy — The Twenty- 
eighth Article of Religion. 

T HE far-reaching influence of the pure discipline of 



the early Church was incalculably salutary. The 
venerable and holy St. Ambrose in the fourth century 
challenging the Greek Emperor Theodosius at the door of 
his own Cathedral, and refusing him the sacred Elements 
until he had submitted to penitential discipline for wan- 
ton bloodshed, is a majestic figure. But in the degen- 
eracy of the Church in the Middle Ages, a vindictive 
temper often usurped the holy spirit of primitive days ; 
and in the twelfth century the anathema of the Greater 
Excommunication, in which, after reading the Gospel, 
Bishop and Priest joined in denouncing the offender " by 
bell, book and candle," was an awful and often a most 
blasphemous ceremony. 

The violent reaction of Reformation days resulted in 
nearly banishing ecclesiastical discipline altogether, and 
the absence of some wholesome and properly restricted 




ITS 



THE HOLT COMMUNION. 



179 



system is now to be regretted. The present code of disci- 
pline for communicants lies in the first two rubrics which 
precede the Communion Office (and in the one concerning 
admission to full membership, which follows the Order of 
Confirmation and will be there considered), and is designed 
to be reformatory rather than punitive. Its authority is 
derived through the Apostles in their great Commission 
recently quoted, and the exercise of such a prerogative is 
an inherent right of every properly organized society. 

There are careless and worldly communicants in every 
Parish. They are to be pleaded with, warned, influenced to 
a higher and holier life, but not to be repelled. Their 
inner fitness is known only to God, the Searcher of all 
hearts. Peter and Judas were of the original Twelve, and 
one of them, with all his faults, became the first leader in 
the Christian Church. The rubrics contemplate repulsion 
(or suspension) alone, and two instances only are named: 
those of scandalous and notorious evil-livers, and those, 
showing outward hatred and enmity to their neighbours. 
Treatment of either case must be subject to the gravest cau- 
tion, after persistent private remonstrance and affectionate 
admonition on the part of the Priest ("to advertise" 
means to notify, but not with publicity); and discipline 
must never be inflicted by him in a case to which he may 
himself be a party. He is bound to make immediate re- 
port to his Bishop for his judicial investigation ; and to the 
latter the repelled party has an appeal for a reversal of the 
suspension. If the Priest is not sustained in his judg- 
ment, he may himself be liable to the civil courts in a 
trial for defamation of character. 

In his functions as the Celebrant, he officiates in a 



180 



THE CHURCH IX THE PRAYER BOOK. 



threefold capacity. His prophetical attitude is expressed 
in his readings from Holy Scripture and in the Sermon. 
The priestly office is indicated in his offering the Alms and 
Oblations, in the Consecration of the Elements, and in 
leading the people in their Sacrifice of praise and thanks- 
giving. As the representative of a King he gives the 
Absolution and the Benediction, and imparts the sacred 
Elements to the worshipper. These principles are em- 
bodied in his dress, environment, position and acts. And 
here it is proper to say that great elaboration of ritual 
ceremonial is entirely consistent and generally concurrent 
with great simplicity of doctrine, and vice versa. No 
Church in the world has so gorgeous a ceremonial as the 
Greek Church, yet its Creed is very simple ; while the 
extreme refinements of Calvinistic theology were joined to 
a form of worship which was plain and unadorned often to 
the verge of baldness and beyond. " Ritualism," more- 
over, is properly a relative, not an absolute term. 

The Vestments appropriate to the Communion Office 
are not as yet defined by our American legislation, but are 
matters of traditional custom. In the First Book those of 
the Priest and his associates are specified ; and our usage, 
derived through the history of the English Church and 
subject to its interpretations, points to such (including 
ornaments and adjuncts) as were in use in the second year 
of King Edward VL The Surplice is not a priestly gar- 
ment, being worn also in a modified form by Choristers 
and Lay-readers. The chief Vestments distinctively such 
and worn over the Cassock are the Alb, the Chasuble and 
the Stole. The Alb is a long garment of white linen, com- 
ing to the feet like a close Surplice, and with close-fitting 



THE HOLT COMMUNION. 



181 



sleeves reaching to the hand. It suggests the Purity which 
should characterize the officiant. The Chasuble is worn 
over the Alb, and is also of white linen, elliptical in 
shape, without sleeves, falling in folds below the waist, 
and ornamented on the back with the " Orphrey," or Y- 
shaped Cross, in needle-work or embroidery. The signifi- 
cance of the Chasuble is the Charity which should envel- 
ope the wearer. When the Stole is worn with these it is 
usually crossed upon the breast. It stands for the easy 
yoke of Christ's service. 

The Communion Office is entirely rendered by the Priest 
from within the third division of the Church building, 
beyond the Sanctuary -rail, to which the communicants 
approach at the proper time. Behind it against the east- 
ern, or rear wall of the Chancel, but not necessarily attached 
to it, and perhaps with a narrow passage between them, is 
the Altar, an oblong structure of wood or stone, often cov- 
ered with cloth, in shape similar to the Ark of the Jewish 
Tabernacle. As the Choir is raised above the Nave, gen- 
erally by three steps or foot-paces, so the floor of the 
Sanctuary is one pace higher still, on which communicants 
kneel at the Rail ; and the Altar is still further elevated 
on a platform usually three paces higher, or a series of 
seven steps in all. 

Altar and Table are terms synonymous as used in 
Scripture, and their employment invariably indicates a 
doctrine of sacrifice. The former is much the more cor- 
rect and expressive term, and indeed no primitive writer 
uses any other. The oldest known Altar is that of the 
Church of St. John Lateran at Rome, traditionally that of 
St. Peter. In Oriental Churches the " Holy Table " is the 



182 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



prevailing term, and there the usual form of Chancel is 
that of the Basilica (or ancient law-courts which were 
remodelled into churches), where the Holy Table stands 
in the chord of the apse, with a space behind it, which 
is occupied by the Chair of the Bishop. This leads 
the eye up as a finality only to a human instrumentality, 
and is corrected by placing the Bishop's Chair at the 
North, or Gospel, side of the Altar, facing the people, both 
Altar and Chair being against the east-wall of the Church. 
In Cathedrals the Episcopal Chair, called there his Throne, 
is placed just without the Rail on the South side of the 
Choir, facing inwards like the Choir-stalls. 

On the South side of the Altar and also against the 
east wall is the Credence (from the Anglo-Saxon " to make 
ready ") ; a table or, more exactly, a shelf, which bears the 
receiving Alms-basin before the Offertory, and also the 
elements of bread and wine, until such time in the Service 
as they are offered for Consecration on the Altar. The 
Reredds is an elaboration of the wall behind the Altar, 
continuing it upward toward the Chancel window in 
wood or stone, with symbolic carving or other adornment, 
and sometimes covering the whole width of the east wall 
of the Sanctuary. A Painting sometimes takes its place, 
and a substitute is the Dossel, a decorated curtain which 
hangs in its stead, and is apparently a survival of the 
canopy or Baldachino over the Altar, which is an usual 
feature of Continental Cathedrals. If a hanging is used 
for the front of the Altar it is called the Antependium, or 
Frontal. In any symbolic adornment of the Sanctuary 
proper, the Passion flower and vine should not be omitted, 
owing to their peculiar significance in relation to the 



THE HOLY COMMUNION. 



183 



Eucharist. The emblems of the Eucharist itself are the 
sheaf of Wheat and cluster of Grapes, or the Loaf and 
the Cup. 

The permanent Ornaments of the Altar itself should not 
be placed upon it, but upon an Altar-shelf behind and 
above it, called the Retable, or Super-altar, which may be a 
part of the Reredos, and whose face usually bears an in- 
scription. The Altar-cross stands in the centre of the 
Retable. However beautiful, costly, and suggestive its 
symbolic decoration may be, it should not be a crucifix. 
Such a symbol may be helpful on Good Friday to realize 
the stupendous significance of that Day, but for ordinary 
and continual use it is the empty Cross that stands for 
the completed and essential character of our redemption, 
which has a yet living and prevailing High- Priest. 

Whatever be the system of illuminating the Altar and 
Sanctuary (and it may be made very beautiful and uplift- 
ing by a pendent Corona, or crown of light, and by standard 
lights or otherwise), the two special Altar-lights have their 
ancient, legitimate and proper place at opposite ends of 
the Retable. They are used as symbols only, and typify 
the divine and human Natures of Our Lord, blended in 
Him who is the " Light of the world," and whose office 
and work of redemption is the peculiar burden of Euchar- 
istic teaching. On this account they should not be lighted 
until the Communion Office proper, and not at all unless 
that Office is used entire. Candlesticks bearing wax- 
candles should be used, because under the symbolism 
of the latter the entire substance of the wax is given up 
in light, as Our Lord gave Himself up without reserve for 
His Church ; while the continuous thread of the wick 



184 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK 



indicates His abiding presence with His Body on earth, 
for the local branches of which the candlestick itself is an 
ancient symbol. It is this thought of self-devotion which 
makes an appropriate analogous emblem, elsewhere used, 
of the Pelican, who was fabled to feed her young with her 
own heart's blood. On each side of the Altar-cross should 
stand Altar-vases for flowers, which ought never to be 
empty at a festal Service. Floral decorations should 
never be placed upon the Altar itself. 

As a survival of extreme reaction from the super- 
stitious and false teachings of medievalism connected 
with the Eucharist, the rubrics in the English Book and 
our own still speak generally of the Lord's Table ; but it 
is always the Table of the Lord, and not the Communion 
Table, or the Table of the communicants. The word 
"Altar " points to the Holy Eucharist as a re-presentation 
of the One Sacrifice, and the " Holy Table " indicates the 
spiritual Feast upon that Sacrifice. The former is properly 
inclusive of the latter. The rubrical direction is that it 
"shall stand in the body of the Church, or in the Chancel." 
This is also a survival of the time when the communicants 
at the time of the Administration all knelt at once in the 
Chancel together, "where Morning and Evening Prayer 
are appointed to be said ; " or if the number was too 
great, then in the Nave also. At the Puritan revision of 
the Prayer Book in 1552, the Holy Table was itself carried 
into the Nave, their policy being to degrade the Eucharist 
to a mere Supper, devoid of awe or mystery. If possible, 
they would even have had seats about it, with the Priest 
as a mere President of the feast to distribute. Inevitably 
this practice led to gross irreverence, and speedily de- 



THE HOLT COMMUNION. 



185 



stroyed, as it was meant to do, the influence derived from 
its sacramental character. 

Under Charles I. the Altar was restored, in the Scottish 
Liturgy, to its place of honour within the Sanctuary, and 
Communion-rails were introduced by the influence of Arch- 
bishop Laud. These now very generally exclude the 
Rood-screen, which was common after the twelfth century, 
and whose restoration in Churches has begun. This is an 
open-work arched division (once called " Cancelli," and 
hence " Chancel ") separating the Nave from the Choir, 
crossing the Chancel arch, and originally supporting a 
horizontal beam, which was surmounted by the Cross, or 
" Holy Rood." From divisions of the Rood-screen the 
Epistle and Gospel were once read, and the Lectern and 
Pulpit are outside of it. It was sometimes large enough 
for a gallery and contained a small Chapel ; and even now 
these are utilized in Cathedrals as organ-lofts. In the 
Greek Church the division between Choir and Sanctuary 
is the more emphasized, as with the Western Church it 
is between Choir and Nave. The Sanctuary-rail in the 
former is a closed screen, with veiled doors, which are 
never opened except by the Priest as he enters at a Cele- 
bration. 

The Priest is to stand at first at the right side (or in 
the English Book, " at the North side ") of the Altar. 
These terms are identical and signify the Gospel side, or 
the right as he faces the people, the front of the Altar 
being divisible into three parts: right, middle and left, and 
the shorter sides being known as ' 4 ends." The position, 
though a non-essential, is not a matter of indifference in 
the orderly, reverent and significant conduct of a sacrifi- 



186 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



cial act. For the same reason the Priest stands at the 
head of the people, as their leader and mouth-piece, 
through the entire Office, except when kneeling in the Gen- 
eral Confession and the Prayer of Humble Access. Dur- 
ing the Service, unless directly addressing the congrega- 
tion, he faces the Altar, which is hallowed by the sacred 
Elements ; and if he have assistants, known as Deacon and 
Subdeacon, they similarly stand or kneel on the foot- 
paces below him. The Celebrant does not leave the Altai- 
platform unless to preach, except when he communicates 
the people. 

Upon the Altar at the time of the Communion (though 
not spread as for a meal), is to be a "fair white linen 
cloth ; " fair not simply in the sense of clean, but beautiful 
as with fair embroidery. Upon it may be laid the Cor- 
poral, or the linen on which are directly placed, and which 
later covers, the Elements themselves. The name is an 
allusion to the linen clothes which protected Our Saviour's 
Body in the Sepulchre ; and likewise prefigures the shin- 
ing raiment of His transfigured Body. White linen also 
typifies the righteousness of the Saints in heaven. 

The Office is emphatically one of Praise, not now so 
thoroughly expressed, however, as in the First Book. Being 
also a complete and distinct Office, it may be introduced by 
a Hymn or Anthem, as is always the case where it immedi- 
ately follows Morning Prayer. As far back as can be traced, 
the Priest entered the Sanctuary with an outburst of song 
under various names, the most familiar of which is " the 
Introit " (or " entering " Song). Originally this was a Psalm 
of Invitation like the Venite. In the Western Church it 
took the form of the Gloria in Excelsis, which we, with 



THE HOLY COMMUNION. 



187 



greater appropriateness, assign to the close of the Service, 
though the First Book retained it here after the Introit. 
A regular table of these Introits, or special Psalms for the 
Communion Office on every Sunday and Holy-day, was 
printed in the First Book before each Collect, Epistle and 
Gospel ; Proper Lessons also being there indicated when 
they occurred, and the whole being called "At the Commun- 
ion." This table was dropped by the English revisers, 
but it would be well if it had been retained ; though cus- 
tom seems now to have established in its place a Hymn, 
which still bears the name of the INTROIT HYMN. 

We come now to an analysis of the Liturgy itself, which 
is divided into the ORDINARY and the CANON, these be- 
ing represented in the primitive Liturgies by the Greek 
terms Pro- Anaphora and Anaphora (Oblation). The Canon 
is the invariable and more sacred and solemn portion, from 
the Sursum Cor da (or " Lift up your hearts ") to the close of 
the Lord's Prayer. The Ordinary is the remainder, some- 
times variable, as in the Collect and the Decalogue. 
Viewed in logical sequence, the entire Office has three 
divisions, L e.: (1) THE ANTE-COMMUNION, or all, 
including the Sermon, to the end of the Prayer for Christ's 
Church Militant. (2) THE COMMUNION PROPER, as 
far as and including the Reception. (3) THE POST- 
COMMUNION, from the Lord's Prayer to the close. And 
each of these three naturally lends itself to subdivisions, 
(a) The introductory portion of the Ante-Communion in- 
cludes the Sermon, and its second part is the Offertory and 
the Prayer for the Church Militant. (6) The preparation 
of the communicants ends with the Prayer of Humble 
Access, the solemn Consecration follows, including the 



183 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Hymn, and the third subdivision contains the actual Ad- 
ministration, (c) The prayers of the last section lead up 
to the voice of praise and thanksgiving with which it closes. 

In spite of the rubric at the end of the entire Office, it 
was not the original intent that any part of it should be 
used without the remainder, and the use of the Ante-Com- 
munion by itself is an anomaly and a mutilation. In 
Elizabethan days, under Bishop Grindal, it became the 
fashion, unknown before, to unduly exalt Morning Prayer 
by insisting that it should always be fully said in connec- 
tion with the Liturgy proper. This custom prevailed in 
the American Church as late as the Muhlenberg Memorial 
in 1853, and the reaction from this often wearisome prac- 
tice resulted in too infrequent Celebrations, and in a sup- 
posed compensation for this by adding to Morning Prayer 
an introductory fragment of an integral and superior Ser- 
vice. The remedy lies in the rendering of Morning Prayer 
at one hour and of the Litany and Holy Communion at 
another, thus reaching, it may be, different members of 
the same congregation. Only when the Eucharistic Office 
is said by itself in its integrity is its true proportion and 
meaning most clearly seen. 

An unmeaning custom now rapidly lessening is too 
much subdivision of the Office among the Clergy when 
more than one is present, and especially on high occasions. 
In spite of the opportunity afforded by its natural breaks, 
such a practice tends to destroy its unity. It is needless 
to say that a Lay-reader has no right to use any part of 
this Office except to read a Sermon by license, in connec- 
tion with the Daily Service. And a Deacon does not pro- 
ceed beyond the Ante-Communion except when assisting 



THE HOLT COMMUNION. 



189 



the Priest to celebrate. A " High Celebration " is generally 
choral in its character, or at least great prominence is given 
to its musical and other festal features ; while a " Low (or 
Plain) Celebration " has none of these, and may be with- 
out a processional entrance as well. 



a 



XVIII. 



THE DECALOGUE, ALTAR-SERVICE AND SERMON. 

" We beseech Thee to direct, sanctify and govern, both our 
hearts and bodies, in the ways*of Thy laws, and in the works 
of Thy Commandments.'''' — The Collect for Sanctification. 

" Godly and wholesome Doctrine, and necessary for these 
times, * * * * to be read [preached] in Churches by the 
Ministers, diligently and distinctly, that they may be under- 
stated of the people."— The Thirty -fifth Article of Religion. 



TF Morning Prayer have just been said, the LORD'S 
PRAYER is omitted; otherwise its words in the shorter 
form are the first on the lips of the Priest. It is to be 
repeated by him alone, it being originally a part of his 
own private preparation, and then said in the Sacristy, or 
at the foot of the Altar-steps. It should be mentally 
shared by the people, but is nowhere intended to be ritu- 
ally used in public without some proper preface. It occurs 
later under these conditions and with special honour. 

It is followed by the COLLECT FOR PURITY, a most 
beautiful and liturgically perfect Prayer, eight hundred 
years old and peculiar to Anglican use. Its tone is like the 
" Lord, open Thou our lips " of the Daily Service. The 
Communion Office, as a complete liturgical function, is 
addressed to the first Person in the Godhead, and pleads 
before Him the atoning Sacrifice of God the Son. He is 
in this Collect addressed as Omniscient, and we ask for 

190 



DECALOGUE, ALTAR-SERVICE, SERMON. 191 



cleansing by His Holy Spirit, through Christ our Lord. 
This Prayer is for Priest and people, and is typified in the 
Greek ceremonial by the Priest's preparatory ablution of 
his own hands, saying : " I will wash my hands in inno- 
cency, O Lord, and so will I go to Thine Altar." It is to 
be carefully remembered, however, that no personal un- 
worthiness of the Priest can invalidate or impair the 
efficacy of the Sacraments. 

Acting as God's deputy, the Priest then turns to the 
people, as in the Lessons and the Absolution, and rehearses 
distinctly the TEN COMMANDMENTS, one by one, after 
each of which the people, still kneeling, implore mercy for 
past transgressions, " and grace to keep the law for the 
time to come." The rationale of the Ante-Communion is 
a threefold self-examination, as declared necessary in the 
Catechism, i. e., as to repentance, as set forth in the teach- 
ing of the Ten Commandments ; as to faith, as called forth 
by the Epistle and Gospel and in their summary the 
Creed, and in the Sermon ; and as to charity, as set forth 
through the Offertory and the Prayer for the Church Mili- 
tant. The aim is, of course, to guard this Sacrament from 
any careless reception ; and the standard of the Moral Law 
is a severe one, being nothing less than the voice of God 
and the writing of His own finger, differing from all other 
Jewish laws as being of universal obligation. The strong- 
est safeguard against presumption is the exaltation of the 
dignity of the Office itself, and the " examination of life 
and conversation by the rule of God's Commandments." 

The Decalogue (or Ten Words) was not in the First 
Book, but inserted by the English revisers, who thus 
restored from primitive use a Lection from the Hebrew 



192 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



Law. The translation there and here is that of the Great 
(or Cranmer's) Bible. In the Catechism they are further 
defined as " The same which God spake in the twentieth 
chapter of Exodus, saying," etc. The Two Tables of the 
Law contain respectively the first four of the Command- 
ments, which embrace our duty to God, and the last six, 
which inculcate our duty to our neighbour. The Greek 
numbering of them is the same as the Anglican ; but the 
Roman Church follows another tradition in consolidating 
the first with the preamble, and begins to number with 
the second ; making up the number by dividing the tenth 
into two, which have the same import but diverse appli- 
cation. There is no commentary or analysis of the Deca- 
logue comparable to that most tersely given in the Cate- 
chism. Any treatment of it here is almost superfluous (as 
belonging rather to Biblical exegesis), and must be very 
brief, touching hastily on a few leading characteristics, 
viewed in the light shed upon them by revealed Chris- 
tianity. 

In the First Table are set forth the belief in, and the fear 
and love, the worship, and the service of a Personal God. 
(1) The first Law asserts the sanctity of our own individ- 
ual relationship to Him, and makes us responsible for un- 
belief ; since u God is Love," as shown in the facts of Our 
Lord's earthly history. (2) The sanctity of His worship 
as spiritual and thus contrasted with and divorced from 
that of Mammon, or material superstitions, is set forth in 
the second. Coupled with this is the statement that godly 
parentage only heightens responsibility, and that visita- 
tion of judgment is only to them that hate Him, and that 
therefore cease to keep His Commandments. (3) The 



DECALOGUE, ALTAR-SERVICE, SERMON. 193 



sanctity of His Name which the third asserts, carries with 
it not only a command against blasphemy and irreverence, 
but also enjoins the sacredness of His Word, and implies 
our duty to promote it in the cause of Christian Missions. 
By wandering and ill-disciplined thoughts we lose our 
hold on sacred things, and Prayer and Giving of Thanks 
are their best antidote. (4) The sanctity of His Holy Day, 
inculcated in the fourth, is in special danger in these latter 
days, when rest is so much craved from a weekly round of 
excitement ; and it is because it is so little realized that 
worship is the truest and most effectual rest. God rests 
from His original creation in the present long " sixth day " 
of the world, but He fills it still with the wonders of Provi- 
dence and Redemption ; and the " Great Sabbath " is yet 
to come. Nothing has made the Anglo-Saxon a peculiarly 
" Godfearing " race so much as their remembrance of the 
One Day in seven. It were to be wished that the Hebrew 
word " Sabbath " should never be used of the Lord's Day, 
unless prefaced by "Christian"; since the First and last 
days of the week stand for two distinct truths. There was 
no division of time into weeks before the day of Moses. 
There should be no weekly relaxation now from the tread- 
mill and tension of worldly pursuits which does not put 
into the foreground of rational enjoyment the realization 
of the imperative needs and claims of religion. 

The Second Table, looking to our neighbour's rights, 
begins (5) in the fifth with the sanctity of the family, the 
first form of society, on which all civilization and govern- 
ment depend, and out of which came the State and the 
Church. Since every father should be the priest of his own 
household, and as parents are in the place of God to their 

(13) 



194 TEE CEURCE IN TEE PRATER BOOK. 



children, and entitled to their love, honour and succour, the 
implication is that of ready obedience to all legitimate 
authority, greatly needed in an age of so-called independ- 
ence. Christ forever dignified the family by entering it, 
and founded a new race, which was to be " born again." 
His Church is called the Kingdom of Heaven, and its citi- 
zens are the King's sons and daughters, members of a royal 
family whose true home is in Heaven. But, as inheritors 
of this heavenly kingdom even while here, they should 
evince it by true Christian fellowship. As a connecting link 
between the two Tables, this " Commandment with prom- 
ise " inculcates our duty to our superiors, as do the remain- 
der our duty to our equals or inferiors. 

(6) The sixth tells us of the sanctity of human life. In 
ancient Greek and Roman paganism, as well as in modern 
heathendom, the lives of wives and slaves were held cheap, 
and children were left to die. The religion of Christ has 
changed all this and made us not only conscious but care- 
ful of each other's rights and privileges, even to the health 
of servants and dependents. Duels are almost abolished, 
and war is nearly ready to yield to arbitration by the con- 
sent of all civilized peoples. But malice and hatred are 
still enemies to individual peace. 

(7) The sanctity of the body, which is notour own but 
the temple of the Holy Ghost, is taught in the seventh as a 
part of temperance, soberness and chastity. This does not 
mean asceticism, which makes the body's discipline supe- 
rior to that of the soul. Self-indulgence is forbidden and 
high ideals encouraged, for the added reason that our na- 
tures belong by an inalienable right to our posterity as 
well as to ourselves. The elevation of womanhood from 



DECALOGUE, ALTAR-SERVICE, SERMON. 195 



slavery through the influence of Christianity has removed 
from her many a stigma, but the hideous evils of divorce 
still remain to be overcome. The coward who, even by 
word, takes advantage of a defenceless woman, is an enemy 
of God and of social order. 

(8) Scriptural ideas of the sanctity of property, which 
is covered by the eighth, are just beginning to prevail, and 
the science of political economy is as yet but three hun- 
dred years old. Lotteries and gambling, so lately com- 
mon, are frowned on now by a more highly educated pub- 
lic conscience. But their inherent vice, in that they 
render no equivalent for the benefits expected, still lurks 
in the debtor who avoids payment or unduly defers it, and 
in the speculator in stocks or it may be in the very neces- 
sities of life. The habit of keeping a strict account of 
expenses, and the regular devotion of the tenth of our in- 
come to religious purposes, are good guaranties of truth 
and justice in all our dealings. Non-production and self- 
absorption are other methods of cheating our fellows of 
their dues from us. 

(9) The ninth deals with the sanctity of character, 
the most personal of all property ; not what we have, but 
what we are — the only possession which clings to us beyond 
this life. He who robs us of good name makes us poor 
indeed ; and the temptation to do this peculiarly assails 
woman, who cannot be always held publicly accountable 
for her words. There is great delay to human progress in 
the thoughtless or wanton destruction of a mutual faith, 
the re-establishment of which is made with difficulty. 
We usurp God's prerogative in judging adversely of the 
motives which we cannot know ; and it is possible to bear 



196 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



false witness even by our silence, a favorite suggestion of 
the Father of lies To cultivate strict accuracy of speech, 
to put the best construction upon the motives of others, are 
self-evident duties of the followers of Christ ; and to talk 
habitually of things rather than persons will be found 
greatly helpful and ennobling to this end. 

(10) The tenth Commandment differs from the others 
in dealing with thoughts rather than deeds, and vindicates 
the sanctity of the soul. The heathen argued falsely in 
favour of the freedom and innocence of the thoughts. 
The present age is peculiarly covetous, yet he is truly the 
wealthiest whose wants are fewest. It is better to appre- 
ciate without ownership than to own without real capacity 
for enjoyment. The lesser gifts are most unevenly divided 
in this world, but the greater ones are impartially within 
the reach of all. There is such a thing as a divine discon- 
tent, and it is always safe to covet earnestly another's vir- 
tues. The truest contentment lies in the pathway of daily 
duty. 

As the Latin vir meant man, so there are four purely 
Moral Virtues of manliness or humanity, i. e. Fortitude 
(which includes patience), Temperance (or self-control), 
Justice and Prudence ; each of which may be strained to 
abuse if unbalanced by Christian sanctions. Thus Forti- 
tude may become stoicism, Justice may exclude charity, 
Prudence may degenerate into niggardliness, and Temper- 
ance in one direction may blind to intemperance in 
others, as in the acquisition and uses of money and in the 
employment of time. The seven cardinal Christian Virtues 
are Humility, Liberality, Chastity, Brotherly Love, Tem- 
perance, Meekness, and Diligence ; which are the opposites 



DECALOGUE, ALTAR-SERVICE, SERMON. 197 



of the seven Deadly Sins of Pride, Covetousness, Luxury, 
Envy, Gluttony, Anger, and Sloth. The three Theological 
Virtues which can live only by the knowledge and love of 
God, are Faith, Hope and Charity. 

The ten repetitions of the KYRIE with the Command- 
ments make a Eucharistic Litany. In its last form we 
pray that they may not be written in stone, but on the 
fleshly table of our hearts. The Kyries shouid always be 
sung where it is feasible, as well as all other parts of 
the Communion Office susceptible of being so rendered. 
The sequence of the Two Tables is parallel with that of the 
Jewish and Christian Dispensations. The Second Table 
alone is quoted in the New Testament, as the claims of the 
One God to our worship had already been fully illustrated 
in Hebrew history. Our Lord's SUMMARY OF THE 
LAW, which now follows, is an expansion of the Mosaic 
code ; "Thou shalt not" is amplified into "Thou shalt," 
and the claims of our neighbour are recognized as equal to 
our own. On such a construction and application of 
what we term the Golden Rule " hang all the law and the 
prophets." 

To love God with the heart alone may be a purely 
emotional act, and lead to the extravagancies of revival- 
ism, while to love Him with the mind only may be a 
purely theological rebound to the other extreme, and end 
in asceticism. But to love Him with true strength of soul 
is above either, and merges our wills in His as the most 
searching test ; for we cannot even love others aright until 
He gives us the power, even though the cause dearest to 
our hearts be that of Christian Brotherhood. 

The Summary of the Law was not in the First Book 



198 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



and does not form a part of the English use ; and we 
derive it from the Scottish Church Service. This and the 
following Collect may be omitted when the Decalogue has 
been said, but must be read whenever the latter is omitted, 
as may be done provided it be said once on each Sunday. 
When this occurs the threefold KYRIE, or Lesser Litany, 
which in the First Book succeeded the opening Collect, 
introduces the Collect addressed to the Father which now 
follows and is called the COLLECT FOR SANCTIFICA- 
TION (of our hearts and bodies in God's laws and Com- 
mandments). It does not occur in the English Book 
except in the Confirmation Office, where we also repeat it. 
In its place that Book has two alternative Collects for the 
Queen, from one of which our Evening Collect for the 
President is framed. 

The COLLECT (or Collects) FOR THE DAY then fol- 
lows as its keynote, being the only variable Prayer in the 
Office ; succeeded by the Epistle and Gospel, each with a 
fixed announcement of book, chapter and verse, and closed, 
as regards the Epistle, with a statement of the fact, but 
without comment. In the earliest times the EPISTLE 
was read from the Ambon (or Pulpit), but in the Greek 
Church from the door of the Sanctuary. In Anglican use 
the Priest steps to the South side of the Altar, facing the 
people. As a change of posture is not directed till the 
next rubric, the rationale would imply kneeling for the 
people here as in the Collect, but primitive custom points 
to a sitting attitude until the Gospel. 

At the announcement of the Gospel from the North 
side of the Altar to which the Priest moves, the congrega- 
tion rises, and the Choristers and Priest (with his assistants) 



DECALOGUE, ALTAR-SERVICE, SERMON. 199 



faces the Altar with them, as in other Glorias and in the 
Creed, while the GLORIA TIBI ("Glory be to Thee, 
Lord,' 1 ) is sung or said by them. Although this early 
ascription in the First Book was stricken out by the 
English revisers, it nevertheless preserves its hold largely 
in present English use, without a rubric. Some Parishes 
continue the equally ancient custom (though never com- 
mon in Anglican use) of similarly repeating " Thanks be 
to Thee, O Lord," after the Gospel, but this is quite unwar- 
ranted by our rubrical direction. 

The GOSPEL has always been treated with the highest 
reverence. In the early Church, as the Emperor rose in 
the Service at this point, 'he put off his crown. In the 
Greek Church, the Book of the Gospels, from which alone 
it is there read, is brought in, adorned with great magnifi- 
cence. Like the Obsecrations in the Litany, it is here a 
memorial before God of the acts or words of Christ. It 
is not said at the close, " Here endeth the Gospel," as 
(unless the Creed has just been said in Morning Prayer) 
it is im mediately followed by that and summarized there- 
in, just as the Second Lesson leads to the Apostles' Creed 
in the Daily Service. The ancient names of a Priest's 
assistants are Epistoler and Gospeller, from their func- 
tions in reading these two portions of the Service ; the 
latter being the more honourable. 

In the English use the CREED must always be said 
here in its NICENE form, as the Church's most authorita- 
tive and devotional profession of Faith preceding her 
greatest Service. With us it is obligatory here or at Morn- 
ing Prayer on the five Greater Festivals at least, and it is 
far more significant if used at every Celebration. The 



200 THE CHURCH IX THE PRATER BOOK. 



recital of the Creed was first associated with the Office of 
Baptism, and another reason for "Orientation" was the 
practice at that time of the abjuration of heathenism, 
which invariably worshipped toward the west. The Priest 
here faces the Altar. The Creed was introduced into the 
Divine Liturgy as a proper credential for the Holy Com- 
munion and as a protest against Arianism by Peter of 
Antioch, in 469 A. D., and it also serves here as a connect- 
ing link between Scripture and Sermon, being the fullest 
and most complete formulary of the truths of the Incar- 
nation. 

During the reading of the NOTICES from the Chancel- 
rail or Choir, which now follows, the congregation is 
seated. In the English Book all matter is forbidden to be 
"proclaimed or published" here, except the -announce- 
ment of Holy days or Fasting days in the coming week, 
notice of the Holy Communion, and certain ecclesiastical 
and State matters, except as they may be enjoined by 
Queen or Bishop. We open the door wider by inserting 
" Banns of Matrimony, and other matters to be pub- 
lished"; but the former are in most States obsolete under 
the civil law, and the Church's usage ordinarily proscribes 
the introduction of purely secular matters. It may here 
be said that where Celebrations of the Eucharist are habit- 
ually very frequent, formal "Warnings" are not always 
read, as was provided in the First Book. In the English 
Book those intending to be partakers are required to 
" signify their names to the Curate " as early as the day 
before. Our next rubric states, " Then shall follow the 
Sermon"; but there is general rubrical authority for the 
use of Hymns both before and after Sermons. Universal 



DECALOGUE, ALTAR-SERVICE, SERMON. 201 



usage inserts here the SERMON HYMN, which should be 
chosen to harmonize with the teaching of the Day or of 
the address. During this Hymn is a familiar and proper 
time for the departure of young children from the Church. 

The function of preaching was restricted to the Order 
of Bishops until the fourth century, and was originally 
discharged in a sitting posture from his Chair (ex cathedra), 
after the manner of the Jewish worship, with which Our 
Lord complied when in the Synagogue at Nazareth. St. 
Ambrose is said to have shrunk from entering the Episco- 
pate, as it entailed this duty. The great preacher of the 
Greek Church was St. John Chrysostom in the fourth 
century. St. Augustine was the first Priest in the Western 
Church to fulfil, before a Bishop, what has since been an 
integral part of the Priest's Office. There have been few 
great preachers in the Roman communion. In fact 
preaching, either by Bishop, or Priest, was unknown at 
Rome until Leo the Great in the fifth century ; and no 
Pope preached from the tenth century until Pius V. in the 
sixteenth. 

There have been many very great names among the 
preachers of the Anglican communion in England and 
America ; yet in the sixteenth century learning had so de- 
clined that written Homilies were provided for the Clergy, 
which still survive by name in one of the Thirty -nine Arti- 
cles of Religion. A less authoritative attitude than sitting 
was assumed when the lower Orders began to preach, and 
congregations were at first addressed, as in the Epistle, 
from the Ambon y ox else from the Altar-steps. Deacons do 
not preach unless licensed by the Bishop ; but this license 
is customary, and a large measure of informal liberty in 



I 

202 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



missionary and educational addresses is allowed to lay- 
men and even laywomen, when properly subordinated to 
the worship that befits the occasion. 

The SERMON is nowhere rubrically recognized ex- 
cept as a part of the Communion Office, although, of 
course, habitually employed in the Morning and Evening 
Service. The employment of a text is said to be relatively 
modern, dating in England from the reign of King John. 
Liturgically it was at first an exposition of the Euchar- 
istic Lections ; or, in other words, the essence of the Gospel 
for the Day, on which it is generally founded in the round 
of yearly teaching — a wonderful aid to the orderly and 
effective work of the Pulpit. Its discursive use was not 
early recognized, and its secularization is a violation of 
Churchly sentiment, though it should always be, as be- 
comes a teaching Church, in touch with and a guide to the 
consideration of the shifting problems of humanity. But 
the Pulpit will do well to remember that the only radical 
and permanent solution of such problems lies in the con- 
version of the human soul to Christ and its strengthening 
and refreshment from supernatural sources, and this must 
after all be the burden of the highest preaching. " The testi- 
mony of Jesus is the spirit of Prophecy." 

The Prophetic Office is no less needed now than at any 
other stage of human history, but it is to be correlated 
with God's worship in His Holy Word, through Prayer 
and in the Sacraments. By the living voice and the sym- 
pathetic human touch the Clergy are to " reprove, rebuke, 
exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine " as in the 
Apostles' day ; and the congregation are to "take heed 
how they hear," with humbleness, charity, prayer and 



DECALOGUE, ALTAR-SERVICE, SERMON. 203 



self-application, without captiousness, and as listening to 
the ambassador of a King. No Sermon can fail to teach us 
some truth or remind us of some duty ill-performed, and 
superfluous criticism of them is not usual among Church- 
people. To one properly mindful of the elements of a true 
and orderly worship, the devotional teaching and influence 
of the Church's liturgy are infinitely more helpful and 
uplifting than any words of man. 

In primitive times the Sermon was prefaced by a 
mutual Salutation between Priest and people, and long 
and reverent custom sanctions an opening INVOCATION 
of the Trinity on the imperfect work of man, during which 
the congregation remains standing. A "bidding Prayer," 
once usual at other times in this connection, is unsuited 
to and unprovided in the Communion Office. The stand- 
ing posture is resumed by the people at an ASCRIPTION 
by the Priest to God's glory at the close of the Sermon, 
often followed by the singing of the GLORIA PATRI, both 
of which custom has long since hallowed. When neither 
the Offertory nor the remainder of the Communion Office 
is said, the Service is concluded by Collects at the Minis- 
ter's discretion, and the final Blessing of this Office. The 
form of Blessing when used in the Daily Service, may be 
either the shortened form at the close of the Confirmation 
Office, the Aaronic Blessing, or that employed in the Office 
of Institution, but is ordinarily the former. 

If it be asked concerning " exchange of pulpits " with 
Ministers of other religious bodies, the question has prob- 
ably been sufficiently answered elsewhere in the definition 
of the general principle of the Apostolic Ministry. A 
violation of that principle would not imply in the Pulpit 



204 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



all that would be involved by intercommunion at the 
Altar, but it would be none the less an inconsistency and 
a solecism. The question of relative spiritual merit or of 
intellectual ability does not at all affect the issue, which, 
by the way, is one not of our seeking. To deny to her own 
laymen, who have even received the Apostolic Laying- 
on of Hands, a pulpit privilege accorded to even the god- 
liest representative of an unapostolic faith would only add 
injustice to inconsistency. The acceptance of a preferred 
courtesy in the use by us of another's house of worship 
where reciprocity was not involved, would be no violation 
of the principle. Nor would a consistent layman, on any 
ground of comity or friendship, turn his back upon a Ser- 
vice of his own communion to worship elsewhere at the 
same hour. Until the vital question of Orders is met on 
the basis of the Anglican Declaration, we must content our- 
selves with welcoming all possible social, civil, charitable 
and educational meeting-grounds, to express, as openly as 
may be, a present fellowship and a hope of future union. 



XIX. 



THE OFFERTORY AND PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH. 



alms and oblations, and to receive these our prayers, which we 
offer unto Thy Divine Majesty. ***** And we also 
bless Thy Holy Name for all Thy servants departed this life 
in Thy faith and fear ; beseeching Thee to give us grace so to 
follow their good examples, that with them we may be par- 
takers of Thy heavenly kingdom.'''' — The Prayer for Christ's 
Church Militant. 

r HUS far the preparatory self-examination of the Ante- 



Communion has proceeded on the lines of repentance 
and faith, as called forth by the Moral Law and the Word 
of God. It now makes the application of charity, or love, 
in the Offertory and the Prayer for the Church Militant. 
The collection of ALMS is expressly ordered as an integral 
part of every Celebration, but is also encouraged at other 
times. It is indeed a usual, devout and proper accom- 
paniment of every Morning Service, which without it seems 
incomplete, as furnishing a reverent and seemly method of 
collecting the ordinary income of the Parish 

How that income shall be derived has been a vexed 
question, and must be decided for the time being according 
to the relative education of each congregation in the best 
method (i. e., the most intelligent method, looking to all 
the purposes involved). The priceless privilege of Church 
attendance, not to mention Church membership, must be 



"We humbly beseech Thee most mercifully to accept our 




205 



206 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



paid for ; Church debts may be as sinful as private ones, 
perhaps more so, and a the labourers are worthy of their 
hire." Moreover, Christian giving is itself not only a duty, 
but a privilege. Money is the fruit of our time and tal- 
ents, but these do not belong to us alone, as we are each 
responsible for them to God, and " of His own have we 
given Him." Systematic and frequent giving is also a 
duty, as thereby the obligation is constantly before us, and 
its fruits are not prejudiced by postponement. "Upon 
the First day of the week let every one of you lay by him 
in store, as God hath prospered him," says the Apostle. 
An application of these principles would speedily banish 
the necessity for such abnormal methods of Church aid as 
those which, involving vast labour and friction, are classed 
under the general designation of " Church fairs." 

That the house of God should be free alike to all, rich 
and poor, without question of privilege arising from invid- 
ious social or pecuniary distinctions, is an unquestionable 
principle. But rights of courtesy must not be infringed 
(rights of ownership there are none); use must not become 
abuse, and an income must be forthcoming which shall be 
known in advance to be adequate for current needs. On 
the other hand, if occupancy of pews be reserved, they 
should certainly be occupied, since others are debarred 
their use. As matter of fact, the greater number of Amer- 
ican Churches are free, based on such voluntary pledges or 
other assurance given in advance as shall guarantee the 
stable maintenance of worship. And the " Pledge system " 
has the great merit of encouraging small yet systematic 
offerings from the many, from the poor and the children. 
The best security of all, however, is an endowment, which 



OFFERTORY, PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH. 207 



liberates parochial support from the accidents of time and 
change, and turns the regular offerings into channels o.f 
aggressive missionary work. Herein lies a great oppor- 
tunity for consecrated wealth. 

The standard of Christian giving is not limited as to its 
maximum. Its minimum is the tithe, or tenth of our in- 
come, and this was fixed centuries ago by Divine appoint- 
ment, with a consequent blessing, and has never been 
abrogated. Many Christian souls are not satisfied even 
with such a limit, and Zaccheus, even before he knew his 
Master, gave one-half of his goods. We cannot hope to 
" serve God acceptably with that which costs us nothing " 
of self-sacrifice ; yet " what we give, we have," if the motive 
be such as deserves God's blessing. The COMMUNION 
ALMS given at every Celebration rest, however, on an 
added, though cognate principle. Here they are an essen- 
tial part of the Eucharist itself, as testified from the days 
of Justin Martyr, who lived within forty years of St. John. 
Then the communicant should never 44 appear empty before 
the Lord. 1 ' These Alms are by canon devoted to special 
44 pious and charitable uses " under the express direction of 
the Parish Priest, and for such distribution he is alone re- 
sponsible. There is very frequently a laxity in remember- 
ing or realizing these needs, 'and in making Offerings com- 
mensurate with them. The 44 other devotions " named in 
the rubric may be jewels, title-deeds, pledges, or any other 
form of Offering, all of which should be hallowed by being 
first laid upon the Altar. The value of Easter Offerings, 
which are the fruit of Lenten self-denial, is peculiarly 
great ; and dear above all are those which are at the same 
time a memorial of the blessed dead. 



208 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



" Deacons, Church-wardens, or other fit persons " (usu- 
ally Vestrymen) are designated by rubric to collect the 
Alms in the Service. The lower Order of the Ministry was 
originally appointed to " serve tables," and hence has the 
first place here. The collection is preceded by the reading 
from the Sanctuary of one or more of the OFFERTORY 
SENTENCES of Scripture, first collected in the First Book, 
and most of them from the Great Bible, and of which there 
are now twenty-five (twenty in the English Book). Many 
of these are very unfamiliar in use, and it were to be desired 
that they might be more generally heard. This stimulates 
devotion, and relieves from monotony and from any undue 
prominence given to a material interest. Originally the word 
"Offertory " was synonymous with an Anthem, " the song 
of the offerers," which excluded the Sentences altogether. 
The first of these is a saying of Our Lord, quoted by St. 
Paul, and not otherwise recorded. This and the next five 
(together with the last four) are of general application ; the 
five following set forth the rights of the Clergy and of the 
Church, and the remaining ten refer to the poor. Six are 
taken from the Gospels, eleven from the Epistles, six from 
the Old Testament and two from the Apocrypha. 

If the Priest have assistants, the collecting Alms-basins 
should be taken from one of their number at the Chancel- 
steps by those who collect, and be there returned to them; 
otherwise the collectors proceed to the Altar-rail. In any 
case the congregation rises, and all remain standing while 
the Receiving-basin is reverently brought to the Priest, 
who humbly presents and places it for acceptance upon 
the Altar, with an appropriate Sentence by himself or the 
Choir, often followed by the Gloria Patri. At the presenta- 



OFFERTORY, PRATER FOR THE CHURCH. 209 



tion of the Offerings a Hymn, or OFFERTORY ANTHEM, 

from the Bible or the Prayer Book may be sung. If a Lay- 
reader officiate, he leaves the Offerings at the Chancel-rail. 
The standing posture is maintained while the Priest pro- 
ceeds to place upon the Altar (which has thus far held 
nothing but the Priest's Book on an Altar-desk), the ele- 
ments of Bread and Wine as the First of the OBLATIONS; 
typifying the fruits of the earth, now rendered to the 
Lord of Nature. The Altar now bears the Flagon, or 
the receptacle from which the Wine is poured into the 
Chalice which is placed to the lips of the worshipper ; 
the Paten, which holds the Bread in its equal divisions for 
each ; and such minor adjuncts as are essential to the final 
reverent care of the sacred Vessels before they are removed 
from the Sanctuary. It is exceedingly desirable that these 
Vessels be as pure and rich in their character as the ability 
of the communicants may warrant. 

The Jewish worshipper gave the price of his victim in 
sacrifice, and the early Christians personally brought a 
free-will offering of bread and wine. At least one King 
prepared his own Oblation, and one Queen baked her 
wheaten loaf from flour of her own grinding. The First 
Book required each communicant to offer the just value 
of a loaf, and what remained unconsecrated was for the 
Priest's use. 

The Jewish shew-bread was a type of the Holy Euchar- 
ist, and this was always unleavened and thus free from 
the corruption of yeast. Whether Our Lord used unleav- 
ened bread at the first Institution is not clear, but a 
natural presumption would so indicate. The use of what 
is called Wafer-bread in the Holy Communion was com- 

(14) 



210 



TEE C SURGE IN TEE PRAYER BOOK. 



mon in the Western Church generally for eight centuries. 
In the First Book the rubric directed it to be all of one 
fashion through the realm, unleavened and round. The 
shape and consistency of the wafer secures uniformity and 
insures against crumbling and loss. There is a strong 
argument from convenience and analogy, and no change 
in doctrine is involved thereby, while reverent use is 
secured. 

A practice as old as Christianity is for the Priest to 
mix a little pure and clean water with the sacramental 
Wine ; and this practice, known as the Mixed Chalice, is 
agreeable to the use of Our Lord at the Paschal Supper. 
In the Holy Land the wine was so strong as to need reduc- 
tion at that Feast. Aside from this, there are two sug- 
gestive thoughts which bear upon the custom. It consti- 
tutes a lively memorial of Him " who shed out of His most 
precious side both water and blood "; and it is, moreover, a 
type of the union in His Person of the Divine and Human 
Natures, the latter being taken up into the former. 

This seems a proper place to allude to an additional 
element or adjunct of worship, especially in the Euchar- 
ist ; and to summarize what are sometimes called the " Six 
points of Catholic ritual" (of which five have already 
been described), i. e., The Eastward Position, Eucharistic 
Vestments, Altar Lights, Wafer Bread, The Mixed Chal- 
ice, and Incense. The last rests its warrant on the anal- 
ogous symbolism attached under the Elder Dispensation 
to this entirely innocent and suggestive usage, very ancient 
both in the Eastern and Western Church. The clouds 
which rolled from Aaron's priestly censer, as " he stood 
between the dead and the living, and the plague was 



OFFERTORY, PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH. 211 



stayed," were emblematic of the One Mediation between 
God and man ; and so is Incense to-day. Malachi the 
prophet declares that "in every place incense shall be 
offered unto my Name, and a pure offering"; and nothing 
more is now done when the " pure offering," which the 
Hebrew mincha symbolized, is offered with the accompan- 
iment of fragrant incense and the prayers of the faithful. 
Whatever feeling, as a matter of taste or habit, may be 
entertained toward the use of Incense, no just indictment 
can lie against it on the score of doctrinal teaching. 

Whether these six usages are essential parts of every or 
any Celebration is one thing — whether they are lawful and 
proper is quite another. What is entirely without influ- 
ence on the spiritual attitude of one communicant is 
highly helpful to another ; and as long as the major part 
of any congregation is persuaded in favour of either more 
or less of outward symbolism, so long should individual 
taste (which, if allowed to become critical, too often degen- 
erates into the tyranny of individual caprice), be held in 
charitable abeyance. And, of course, narrow majorities 
should be slower to exercise their rights in this respect, 
where there does not exist near them another congrega- 
tion of the Church differently minded as to ritual, to 
which individual allegiance may be transferred. 

That usages in some respects similar to these are main- 
tained in the Church of Rome is of itself no argument. 
At various points of her past history the Church has been 
criticised and often bitterly assailed by those within and 
without her fold, for innocent practices (even to the very 
wearing of the Surplice), which are now very dear to the 
hearts of their descendants, and perhaps even to them- 



212 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



selves. The Lutheran body and the Greek Church alike 
habitually use Lights and Vestments ; while their mutual 
antagonism in other ways is as marked as that of Roman 
and Anglican Christianity. The true significance of the 
symbol is to be intelligently discerned ; if it be truthful 
and innocent in itself, and helpful to another, it is not for 
us to " cast a stone." To the thoughtful and unprejudiced 
mind these two truths are evident. The uncompromis- 
ing defender of primitive Catholicity is the most dreaded 
enemy of Rome in her blasphemous additions to the pure 
Faith. And as long as " the world yet lieth in wicked- 
ness " and " our brother's blood crieth unto us from the 
ground," while Altars are certainly not daily thronged 
with eager worshippers, our greatest danger does not lie 
in too many aids or too great incentives to devotion. 

To the title of the PRAYER FOR THE WHOLE 
STATE OF CHRIST'S CHURCH MILITANT, is added in 
the English Book the words " here in earth." Its full effect 
is somewhat impaired by its present position, though the 
latter is very interesting as a mark of the Ephesine or 
Gallican Liturgies. In the First Book it immediately fol- 
lowed the Ter Sanctus, and was a part of the Prayer of Con- 
secration, of which it really forms the beginning. It has 
two objects, i. e., to commend to God our Alms, Oblations 
and Prayers, each of which are specifically called sacri- 
fices in Holy Scripture ; and to bring before Him the 
whole body of the Church, living and dead. Such Inter- 
cessions, as the duty of love and with faith in their prev- 
alence at the time of the Eucharist, have been customary 
from very early ages. They coincide with the Intercession 
of Christ, and draw us closer together in the Communion 



OFFERTORY, PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH. 213 



of Saints. " The Lord's Supper is to memory what Jewish 
sacrifices were to hope." 

The Prayer is shorter now than at first, but is almost as 
comprehensive as the Intercessions of the Litany ; so that, 
when immediately following the Morning Service, the need 
is removed for prefacing the Holy Communion with the 
latter. The Apostle quoted is St. Paul, who directed Tim- 
othy to pray even for the infamous Nero. The classes into 
which Prayers for the living are divided are : for the Cath- 
olic Church (that all who confess God's Name may agree 
in the truth, and live in unity and love) ; for Christian 
rulers (the English Book specifies the Queen and her Min- 
istry); for the Bishops and Clergy ; and finally for all 
people, beginning with the congregation present, and reach- 
ing out especially to all in adversity. The early Church, 
whose refuge was the Catacombs, prayed at this point for 
the " Holy Fathers and Brothers who carry on their struggle 
in the caves and dens and holes of the earth." 

As this Prayer is used only " for them whom Thou hast 
given Me," the heathen are not here named. Aside from 
this, it is the most comprehensive of all uninspired 
Prayers. Originally opportunity was here afforded for the 
insertion of intercessions for individuals, and it is anoma- 
lous that such specific petitions occur now only in the Daily 
Service. The unbroken continuity of the Church in time 
and eternity is beautifully emphasized in the last clause by 
the reference to its now expectant and at last triumphant 
members, and its aspiration that those yet militant may 
join " with them " in glory. The First Book had a special 
thanksgiving for all Saints, and especially for the Blessed 
Virgin Mary, the holy Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles and 



214 THE CHURCH IX THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Martyrs ; with the direct prayer that they may find " mercy 
and everlasting peace." As St. Paul prays for Onesiphorus, 
so such commemorative Prayers for the faithful departed 
are common in all ancient Liturgies ; and thus at the Sacra- 
ment of Love, " angels and living Saints and dead but one 
Communion make." 

It may be added that many of the heathen, whose 
associations are bound up with some commemoration of 
ancestors, have revolted from systems which deny to their 
dead even the uncovenanted mercies of the Gospel. Such 
natural instincts have sometimes impelled them to the 
other extreme, and made even the false doctrines of Purga- 
torial fires attractive and acceptable. What with Scrip- 
tural warrant the living Church implores is light and rest, 
forgiveness and sanctification to her dead — no more. It is 
this thought that makes the Holy Communion so solemn 
and precious a consolation to the survivors, at the Burial 
of the Dead. 

In primitive usage there were kept in every Church 
two-leaved registers, called from the Greek Diptychs, on 
which were constantly inscribed the names of the com- 
municants, living and dead. To be refused a place there- 
on was a token of discipline. In the roll of the dead, 
Saints and Martyrs were preeminent. Both lists were re- 
cited at the Holy Eucharist, which St. Chrysostom charac- 
terizes as " a great honour." It is a beautiful and hal- 
lowed custom which perpetuates this thought now, at the 
Celebration on All Saints' Day, in prefacing this Prayer 
for the Church by the reading of the names of all those 
in the congregation who, in the Christian Year now closing, 
have died "in the communion of the Catholic Church," 



OFFERTORY, PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH. 215 



and then imploring of God what He sees best and most 
gracious for our loved ones. 

There is no rubrical intimation of a break or pause 
in the Service at this point, for the withdrawal of non- 
communicants. Certainly, for communicants to depart 
and turn their backs upon the Sacred Feast, is no less a 
violation of propriety and reverence than it is of rubrical 
order. Even if not communicating, and though they be 
not entitled to such a privilege, still a subordinate benefit 
may well inure to those who remain. The early Church 
showed its sense of this by allowing those on the verge of 
restitution from discipline to be present ; and to deny it is 
to ignore the manifold operation of the Eucharist. If wor- 
ship be sought, what better time to offer it ? If interces- 
sion for ourselves or for others, when will our prayers 
gather greater force ? Or when can preparation better be 
made for a future participation in this Holy Sacrament 
than here? And many a learner might be attracted to 
feel the need and value of supernatural help, if encouraged 
at least to look reverently upon the administration of these, 
the most Holy Mysteries of Christ and His Church. 



XX. 



THE PREPARATION, PREFACE, AND PRATER OF 
HUMBLE ACCESS. 

" Ye who do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, 
and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend 
to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and 
walking from henceforth in His holy ways; Draw near with 
faith, and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort; and 
make your humble confession to Almighty God, devoutly kneel- 
ing." — The Invitation in the Communion Office. 

PHE Exhortations to be given in advance of a future 



Celebration are familiarly called the WARNINGS, 

and are provided so that no communicant need fail in 
due preparation therefor. There are two of them, one 
for ordinary use and one where negligence necessitates it. 
They are found at the end of the Communion Office, not 
being a consecutive portion of any one Service. There is 
now perhaps less need of them (and only a portion is 
generally used) since habitually frequent Celebrations are 
so rapidly increasing ; in such contrast with the infre- 
quent Communions and irreverent practices which pre- 
vailed when they were compiled. But undoubtedly their 
habitual disuse would prove a great spiritual loss to the 
congregation. Their authors are unknown, but they belong 
to Cranmer's day, and are among the best examples of 
the later forms of Exhortation and Prayer. The second 
was probably written by Peter Martyr. Some admirable 




216 



PREPARATION, PREFACE, HUMBLE ACCESS. 217 



passages in the originals were omitted in the present Eng- 
lish Book, and our own abbreviates them still farther. 
The fundamental and preparatory duties of self-examina- 
tion, repentance and amendment are rigidly set forth ; 
and our sins against God and our neighbour are brought 
sharply into relief. 

The objection so often alleged, that of the un worthiness 
of communicants — sometimes an undue stumbling-block 
to those not yet within the fold — is removed by a consider- 
ation of the application in the first Warning of the words 
"worthy" and "worthily." It is nowhere asserted or 
assumed that any can be worthy in soul of so precious a 
privilege; but any, however debased, is capable of a worthy 
purpose, which is the sole requirement. Since a Sacrament 
has two inseparable parts, this is a complete Sacrament to 
all who partake, and not, in case of the recipient who is 
unworthy in purpose, merely the outward sign. So that to 
him who receives alike the thing signified and its outward 
sign, but whose heart is not right in God's sight, and who 
therefore does not " discern the Lord's Body," how dan- 
gerous is such a reception, which is itself not only devoid 
of benefit, but also entails fearful consequences of its 
own ! 

The rationale of private confession in the Prayer Book 
has been earlier dwelt upon. It is in no sense compulsory, 
nor subject to priestly " direction " (which merely substi- 
tutes another's conscience for our own), nor is it held as 
necessary to forgiveness, nor enforced by penalties, all of 
which are enjoined by the Church of Rome. It is left 
entirely to the needs and discretion of the penitent, know- 
ing well that fearful cases often arise where men do not 



218 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



dare deny to themselves this fruitful aid, which seems to 
some only a rock of offence. No doubt there is less need 
of it than if a public Declaration of Absolution were not 
frequently and regularly given. Whether private or pub- 
lic confession were meant, its reality is the vital requisite ; 
and in the First Book strict charity for others was urged 
both upon those who do and on those who do not feel the 
need for this merciful provision. 

The second Warning is most affectionately pleading in 
its tone. Its intense earnestness arises from the fact that 
neglect of this Sacrament is often the first symptom of 
danger to the religious life. It was probably at first in- 
tended for those who had ceased to commune at all ; and 
indeed much of it is equally applicable to those who are 
still altogether neglecting so great salvation. Since the 
whole Warning is of the nature of a vehement remon- 
strance made for the saving of the soul, it does not ex- 
plicitly set forth a doctrine. But in it, as well as in the one 
ordinarily used, the practice of confession is shown to be 
sanctioned by man's own needs as well as by the practical 
words of St. James the Apostle: "confess your faults one 
to another, and pray one for another "; " the effectual fer- 
vent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." 

At this point the " Liturgy of the Catechumens " gives 
place to the " Liturgy of the Faithful," who alone are here- 
after addressed. The EXHORTATION with which it opens 
is, like the Warnings just noted, original with the Anglican 
Communion, and marks her anxious carefulness for a right 
preparation. It is somewhat shortened here from the 
English use, but maintains a full, lofty and rigid standard 
of self-examination. Many admirably devout and search- 



PREPARATION, PREFACE, HUMBLE ACCESS. 219 



ing Manuals have been from time to time prepared by 
godly and learned men for the constant use of faithful 
communicants, and their employment is more and more 
widely extending; but their essence is well condensed 
into these few brief paragraphs. It maintains the princi- 
ple that " the first requisite of a soul striving after holi- 
ness is courage, the second courage, and the third courage, " 
in endeavouring to fulfil the preparatory requirements laid 
down in the Catechism of childhood's days. In its final 
clauses it emphasizes the value of the pledges which, in 
condescension to our human infirmity, are constantly 
given us by the goodness of God — tangible pledges of the 
invisible and purely spiritual, yet not less Real Presence 
of Christ our Lord. Its conclusion should be realized as 
a Doxology. 

During Warnings and Exhortation the congregation 
stand. If the Exhortation have been said before on Sun- 
day in the same month, it may be omitted, and the Priest 
passes to the INVITATION which follows, and which is 
addressed " to those who come to receive." " To receive " 
has thus become a familiar churchly phrase, and is the 
ordinary expression of the communicant's purpose legard- 
ing the Sacrament. The same requisites as before are re- 
emphasized, i. e., a true and earnest repentance, amend- 
ment, love and charity, faith, with public confession as a 
token of sincerity. If we shrink from these manifest 
duties our consciences are unhealthy or defective. From 
the English rubrics it is evident that formerly communi- 
cants actually " drew near " to the Altar at this point by 
coming into the Choir ; a custom still observed in some 
localities in England. 



220 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



In the earlier ages the Kiss of Peace, which symbolized 
Christian Brotherhood, occupied this place in the Service. 
A notably better arrangement is manifest here than in the 
First Book, wherein all that follows before the Consecration 
Prayer (except the Great Thanksgiving), occurs after that 
Act, but still before the Administration. " Devoutly 
kneeling " (a posture retained by the congregation until 
they go forward to receive), Priest and people now " draw 
near with faith," as if with " shoes from off their feet n in 
awe ; yet nothing doubting that though with outward 
eyes they see but the Bread and Wine which are present, 
still, "unless the Apostles were deceived and sixty genera- 
tions of Saints and holy men have believed what is false," 
they shall actually receive the Body and Blood of Christ. 

The principal words of the GENERAL CONFESSION 
are taken from the primitive Liturgy of St. James, and, 
with the same divisions, it has greater fervency of tone 
than that in the Daily Service, being on the lips of none but 
communicants. Greater stress is laid upon the burden 
of sin and its personal character, though less distinction 
is drawn between its different phases. It is addressed to 
the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, our Maker and our 
Judge. In it we grieve over actual sin ; original sin hav- 
ing been washed away in Baptism. Confession here pre- 
cedes the great Oblation as in the Sin-offering of the 
Jewish Church, which with its Burnt-offering and Peace- 
offering find their completed meaning in the Holy Eu- 
charist. 

The position and significance of the ABSOLUTION 

following recalls the washing of the Disciples' feet by Our 
Lord just before the Paschal Supper. Derived from the 



PREPARATION, PREFACE, HUMBLE ACCESS. 221 



ancient Latin, its structure has been considered where it 
occurs in the Daily Service. From its deeper solemnity 
and more direct application it should properly be re- 
stricted to the Communion Office, like the companion 
form of the Confession just treated. The presence of a 
Bishop does not necessarily take the pronouncement of 
the Absolution from the Celebrant, unless the former be 
the Diocesan. 

The importance of an absolving power was originally 
set forth by an unique symbolic act — the Breathing on the 
Twelve Apostles. In that act, Christ repeated the first 
creative miracle, and through the operation of the Holy 
Spirit endowed them with a part of Himself. The Minis- 
try of remission was given not to Angels but to men ; and 
in her Ordinal, notwithstanding the assaults of Puritans 
in the past, and of rationalizing tendencies in the pres- 
ent, the Church retains Christ's exact words, which can 
by no means be explained away. The gift was not, like 
the healing of the sick and the casting out of evil spirits, 
for temporary and miraculous use — a use which could be 
verified by externals — but was to abide in spiritual power 
with the Apostolic Ministry of the Church till the end of 
the world. The objection that penitence alone suffices 
for remission proves too much. By analogy the assertion 
would be valid that no outward Communion is needed 
provided we inwardly realize the truths of the Incarna- 
tion. Though Christ may not be bound by His Sacra- 
ments, His followers certainly are, where those Sacra- 
ments may be had. 

To calm our doubts and to quicken our faith in the 
absolving Presence of Christ, the exquisite COMFORT- 



222 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



ABLE WORDS now follow, so precious to English and 
American use. Though not in any other Liturgy, their 
introduction was influenced by the Lutheran " Consulta- 
tion " of Hermann, Archbishop of Cologne in 1548, the 
translation being that of Cranmer. The first two Sentences 
are Our Lord's own Words, followed by those of His 
Greatest Apostle and of His Beloved Disciple. The earlier 
two assert Christ's boundless love for the sin-burdened 
soul, and the Father's love in sending Him to earth. The 
later ones emphasize the gift of salvation, first by past 
Atonement, and second by present and perpetual Inter- 
cession. " Our Lord looks directly to the Father ; His 
Apostles to the Father through Him." At this point the 
preparation of the worshipper is complete, and the CANON, 
or invariable portion of the Liturgy, begins. 

On the threshold of the Holy Mysteries there is now 
nothing to think of but the Lord. The Absolution, fol- 
lowing the usual analogy, is succeeded by the GREAT 
THANKSGIVING, which closes with the Ter Sanctus. 
This thought is the inherent one in the Holy Eucharist, 
and will become more and more so as we cultivate and 
express our gratitude for all the ordinary blessings of 
this life. What now precedes the Consecration is called 
the PREFACE to the most sacred portion. The trumpet 
call of its opening words, SURSUM CORDA ("Lift up 
your hearts "), has been sounded in every known Liturgy 
from the days of the Apostles. In the Eastern Church 
there is no variation in the Preface arising from the 
Christian Seasons, and its form is much longer. 

In Anglican use its length is curtailed, but is varied at 
the five Greater Feasts by the insertion before the Ter 



PREPARATION, PREFACE, HUMBLE ACCESS. 223 



Sanctus of PROPER PREFACES, which bring out the 
dominant teaching of those Days, extending it to their 
Octaves, except with Whitsunday, which only governs the 
week, and Trinity, which falls within its Octave. In the 
older Sacramentaries there was, like the Collects, a Proper 
Preface for each Sunday and Festival, and sometimes even 
for week-days ; and that for Trinity was, in the Missal of 
Sarum, continued through all the Sundays of that Sea- 
son. Gregory reduced them all to eight, but it were to be 
wished that our present usage for only five Feasts were 
extended to Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Transfiguration and 
the greater Festivals of the Year. 

That for Christmas dates from 1549, and speaks of 
Christ's twofold Nature, free on its human side from orig- 
inal or actual sin. The Perfect Victim was without flaw, 
though, His human Nature being susceptible of tempta- 
tion, He was the counterpart, but sinless, of the first 
Adam, and the Redeemer of humanity. In the Preface 
for Easter, taken from Gregory, Christ is called the very 
Paschal Lamb, the Conqueror of death and the Lord of 
Life. On this Day prison doors were anciently opened 
and pardons granted to malefactors. That for Ascension, 
also from Gregory, emphasizes the vital truths of a much- 
neglected Feast. As Easter is the pledge of our Resurrec- 
tion, so Ascension is the earnest of Our Lord's perpetual 
Intercession at the right hand of the Father. 

The Whitsunday Preface is of Reformation origin and 
more diffuse than the others. As the Apostles received at 
this time the Outpouring of the Holy Ghost, it has always 
been one of the principal Seasons for Baptism. Whether 
this Outpouring was the permanent bestowal of Unguis- 



224 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



tic powers (which the widespread use of the Greek tongue 
made at that time less necessary), or whether it was for 
the ecstatic prayer and praise of the time only, it was 
none the less miraculous. God exercises an " economy of 
miracles," and Our Lord's promise that " they shall speak 
with new tongues " appears to be applicable rather to 
their converts than to the Apostles themselves. In the 
Preface for Trinity, which is as old as Gelasius, declara- 
tion is made of this doctrine, and of the faith which 
makes it a practical influence on our lives. Our usage 
varies from the English Book in providing an alternative 
form that may be used with the retention of the words 
" Holy Father," which words must be omitted when the 
first is employed. 

The culmination of the Great Thanksgiving is the sub- 
lime TER SANCTUS or TRIUMPHAL HYMN, which is 
found in all Liturgies from the beginning, and is a quota- 
tion from the Angelic Song heard by the prophet Isaiah 
twenty-six centuries ago, and again by St. John the 
Evangelist on the Isle of Patmos. It has sometimes 
been called the " Trisagion" but this appears rather to be 
a different though similar Hymn, which was sung in the 
Greek Church before the reading of the Gospel. Its 
opening Ascription is repeated by the Priest alone. 

The closeness of angelic communion with believers was 
established as a fruit of the Incarnation, and their pres- 
ence with a worshipping congregation is plainly indicated 
by the references in I. Cor. xi. 10, and Hebrews xii. 22,23. 
The prophet who heard the Angelic Hymn cried: " Woe 
is me, for I am a man of unclean lips "; but his lips 
were unsealed by his very cry of self-abasement. This 



PREPARATION, PREFACE, HUMBLE ACCESS. 225 



threefold " Holy " was a foreshadowing of the Trinity, 
and the word " hosts " is the same as " Sabaoth " (or all 
rational creatures) in the Te Deum. In its glorious strains; 
Priest and people join with the Blessed Company of 
Angels, in chanting the praises of Redemption with which 
Heaven and earth are filled. In most ancient Liturgies 
there was added to the Sanctus the " Benedictus qui venit" 
or " Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord, 
Hosannah in the highest"; the words that greeted Our 
Lord Himself at His last entry into Jerusalem, and which 
are exquisitely applicable as welcoming Him who is 
present in the Sacrament of the Altar, but which are not 
authorized by rubric at this point. 

The force and appropriateness of the PRAYER OF 
HUMBLE ACCESS would be greatly enhanced if it re- 
tained in the English and American Book the position 
which it held immediately after the Consecration and be- 
fore the Reception in the First Book, for which it was 
compiled ; and which position it still retains in the Scottish 
Office. It somewhat corresponds to the " Prayer of Incli- 
nation " in the Greek Church, and is signally fervent and 
beautiful. Its words and the posture of the Priest (kneel- 
ing with the people), associate it closely with the Act of 
Participation. In its touching reference to the story of 
the Syro-Phcenician woman, it is a confession of utter 
unworthiness, but also of faith in that unchangeable Lord 
whose mercy is the essence of Love. The petition is for 
the gift of purification, through union with the Sinless 
One and by His perpetual indwelling. 

The body, which was forever hallowed by the fact of 
the Incarnation, is first mentioned, and is here given equal 

(15) 



226 



THE CHURCH IX THE PRATER BOOK. 



honour with the soul. The Savoy Conference, at the time of 
the English revision, objected that Christ's Body is said to 
cleanse our bodies, while His Blood is assigned a higher 
office ; forgetting that for man's complete restoration, the 
redemption of the body cannot be disassociated from 
that of the soul. The Scripture says that " it is the blood 
that maketh an atonement for the soul," and it has there- 
fore become an emblem of the soul's life. In this view 
the error of Rome becomes so much the more fearful, in 
her denial of the Cup to the laity. The use of the word 
"so" implies the terrible alternative that we may so 
" unworthily receive " as not to be true partakers with 
Christ ; and that what was ordained to be " a savour of 
life unto life " may prove the contrary, in despite of a 
Merciful Saviour. 



XXL 



THE CONSECRATION PRAYER AND THE ADMINIS- 
TRATION. 

" The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given 
for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. 
Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, 
and feed on Him in thy heart by faith, with thanksgiving." 

" The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for 
thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Drink 
this in remembrance that GhrisVs Blood was shed for thee, 
and be thankful." — The Administration of the Elements. 

PHE central Act of the Eucharistic Office is the PRAYER 



x OF CONSECRATION — the very heart alike of the 
intensest religious thought and the simplest trust of every 
age. With us it has three divisions, the CONSECRATION, 
the OBLATION and the INVOCATION. In the First Book 
it most impressively succeeded the Prayer for the Church 
Militant, and was substantially the same as our own (the 
variations and additions being slight), but the Invocation 
proper preceded the Words of Institution. The present 
English Book places the Reception immediately after the 
Words of Institution ; the Oblation and direct Invocation 
being altogether omitted, and the remainder used as an 
alternative for the Prayer of Thanksgiving which follows the 
Administration. The American use is the most full, log- 
ical and beautiful of all, being derived by Bishop Seabury 
from the Scottish Liturgy. In so doing, as has been said 




227 



228 



THE CHURCH I W THE PRAYER BOOK. 



on very high authority, Scotland gave us well nigh as great 
a boon as the Episcopate itself. 

As the Jewish Priest stood to offer sacrifice, so the Chris- 
tian Priest stands at the head of his congregation facing 
the Altar, as also did the Priesthood of the third century 
when offering the Christian Sacrifice in the Catacombs, on 
the Altars which were the tombs of Saints. The Roman 
and Greek Churches both habitually conceal the manual 
acts of the Priest ; the latter certainly by design, a veil 
being drawn, or the Chancel-gates closed. Anglican use 
restricts itself to the reverent symbolism expressed by the 
Priest's evident representative character ; a marked con- 
trast to the non- sacramental usage of the Puritans, who 
broke the Bread by subordinate hands in the precincts of 
the vestry -room. In the Roman and Greek Churches this 
Prayer is said privately by the Priest ; but in the Anglican 
the laity hear and assent to his spoken words. 

It opens with the solemn recital of the work of Redemp- 
tion through Christ's Atonement. The sacrificial Death of 
God Incarnate is named as the perfect propitiation for 
human sins ; the Death past and over like the events of 
human history, but the Life from death continuing and 
forever extended in the sacrifice of the Altar. The Obla- 
tion once offered can never be renewed like its many pro- 
totypes, yet the Act is as living now as nineteen centuries 
ago ; for past, present and future are not limiting terms 
to Him with Whom " a thousand years are as one day." 
Before the Father, Our Lord forever pleads His One Sacri- 
fice, and His commissioned representatives associate rev- 
erently in the Act, of which the Eucharist is the earthly 
counterpart. Christ's sacrifice is " full " — not limited and 



CONSECRATION PRAYER, ADMINISTRATION. 229 



local, like ancient Peace- or Trespass- or Sin-offerings — but 
for all sins to which flesh is heir. It is " perfect," for He 
who suffered was without infirmity ; and " sufficient," 
since not merely as an act of heroic self-sacrifice did He 
die ; but rather in sublime Mystery God laid upon Him 
as on a scape-goat the iniquity of us all. But if complete, 
how then is it continuous ? 

On the great Day of Atonement the Hebrew High 
Priest offered for a Sin-offering the goat on which the lot 
fell, and it was slain in the outer court of the Temple. 
Christ also suffered "without the camp," on Calvary's 
height beyond the city wall. But beside this the High 
Priest carried the victim's blood within the veil of the 
Temple, sprinkled therewith the Mercy-seat itself, and 
pleaded its typical virtue for the sins of a whole year. 
Even so Our Lord at His Ascension arose to the Holy 
Mercy-seat of Heaven, and there forever pleads the aton- 
ing efficacy of His Precious Blood before His Father's 
Throne for all mankind. No Jewish sacrifice was com- 
plete without the sprinkling of blood upon the Altar. And, 
though Atonement was fully made and the great Victim's 
agony was past when Christ the Antitype said " It is 
finished," yet the application of His sacrifice will never be 
complete until He comes again to take His ransomed 
people home. 

The Church points indeed to the Atonement, but real- 
izes its saving efficacy through the Eucharist — the Obla- 
tion forever offered, the Celebration which makes Calvary 
truly the meeting-point of past and future till the Mar- 
riage Supper of the Lamb. The Eucharist is the comple- 
ment of the Cross, whose shameful Death was made 



230 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



acceptable through the present Intercession of Him who 
began His work of Priestly Offering on the night in which 
He was betrayed. 

The essential part of the Consecration consists in the 
WORDS OF INSTITUTION repeated by the Priest, which 
are accompanied by certain manual acts rubrically or- 
dered, whose absolute simplicity is in sharp contrast with 
Roman usage. The words are those given by revelation 
to St. Paul and written by him to the Corinthian Church. 
The words and acts of Our Lord are exactly repeated by 
the Priest, but the Elements of bread and wine are mys- 
tically consecrated to be Christ's Body and Blood, by God 
the Father through the Holy Spirit. Elevation of the 
Sacred Elements, if made by the Priest during the recital 
of these Words, is by no means for the purpose of their 
being "gazed upon or carried about" (which is a mediaeval 
corruption of a primitive practice) ; but rather a symbol- 
izing of Christ's uplifting upon the Cross, and thus a 
development of the typical Heave-offering of the Jews. 
The use of the Sign of the Cross in consecrating the Holy 
Eucharist rests on precisely the same sanctions as does 
the same act in the Administration of Holy Baptism. To 
u do this in remembrance" of Him is to "shew forth His 
death " by Commemoration, to " celebrate " as Christ " "kept" 
the Passover. The italicized verbs are identical in the 
original, and the Passover was a sacrificial Feast. The 
Remembrance is a Memorial also before God as well as man, 
and in this there consists an element of prevailing virtue ; 
for through it God returns a gracious answer as the Pledge 
of His continual remembrance of us. 

Christ's purely spiritual Presence is none the less a 



CONSECRATION PRATER, ADMINISTRATION. 231 



Real Presence. From Zwinglius to Rome the theories of 
the Lord's Supper are indeed widely and irreconcilably 
divergent. The former would have it a mere sign or token, 
like a picture of an absent friend, but not a channel of 
grace. Calvin asserted that it was not Christ's Body and 
Blood, but that it could communicate them to a worthy 
recipient. Luther believed in Consubstantiation ; that 
Christ's Body was fused with the bread and wine, thus at 
least implying a physical change therein. Rome boldly 
teaches the doctrine of Transubstantiation ; that the Ele- 
ments are annihilated and become the actual physical Body 
of Our Lord — a gross and materialistic idea, which takes 
away the " sign " altogether. 

The true and Catholic doctrine, preserved in the Church 
by authority since the beginning, is that the Lord's Supper 
is not a sign merely, but " an outward and visible sign of 
an inward and spiritual grace"; that Christ is actually 
present, not physically, not metaphorically , but spiritually 
and sacramentally ; that the bread and wine, in a manner 
incomprehensible, become His Body and Blood. He 
Himself said of a piece of bread in His own hands: " This 
is My Body"; and if He had not meant a literal truth He 
would not thus have interposed what must prove more or 
less a stumbling-block to " babes in Christ." All saints, all 
martyrs confirm this teaching ; any other is modern, and 
either a fraction or a distortion of the truth, to the full 
apprehension of which " faith is a necessary requisite." 

The OBLATION is the solemn presentation and offering 
before God of the now consecrated Elements, accompanied 
by the voice of hearty and lofty Thanksgiving for the 
** innumerable benefits procured by " Christ's Redemption, 



232 



THE CHURCH IS THE P BATES BOOK 



whose memorial we celebrate as He commanded us. The 
English Book has sadly lost through the removal from its 
Liturgy of this feature, which brings out clearly the true 
sacrificial nature of the Office. 

The INVOCATION OF THE HOLY GHOST, which, in 
explicit form, the present English Book omits and which 
Rome never used., is held only second in importance by the 
Greek Church. Its disuse may not affect the validity of 
the Consecration, yet its preservation is highly valuable as 
the Church's recognition of the Mission and Influence of 
the Holy Ghost in this the highest act of worship. When 
a new Consecration takes place in consequence of an insuf- 
ficient supply of the consecrated Elements, the Adminis- 
tration is interrupted by a repetition of the Consecration 
Prayer as far as to the end of this section. 

The Prayer continues with an Inter cession whose terms 
define other attributes of the Holy Eucharist. In close 
association with the Divine Sacrifice is blended our own 
"sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving (the very meaning 
of the word Eucharist) ; while "remission of sins and all 
other benefits of His Passion " are besought not only for 
ourselves but for the whole indivisible Church, here and 
in Paradise. Our whole natures are solemnly dedicated 
to Him as "a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice"; and 
by the inclusion in its petition of ,; all others who shall 
be partakers," the truth of the Sacrament of Christian 
Brotherhood is brought home. 

To the Prayer for grace and benediction is added the 
crowning plea that we may be " made one body with Him. 
that He may dwell in us and we in Him." As our bodies 
live upon the life of plants and animals which God gives 



CONSECRATION PRAYER, ADMINISTRATION. 233 



us, so our soul's life is sustained by the spiritual Feeding 
on the very Life of the Son of God Himself. So that as 
we take into our mortal bodies what He has declared to 
be His Body, He, by a Divine Incorporation, takes us at 
once up into His Own spiritual Body, and makes us really 
members of Himself. Four Divine relationships are in 
turn sustained during the earthly existence of the faith- 
ful follower of Christ. At birth he is His creature ; at Bap- 
tism, he takes His yoke and becomes His son ; as a learner 
of His will, he is His disciple; and in the full " communion 
of the Catholic Church " he is inexpressibly honoured by 
being made a veritable member of His mystical Body. 

The close of this wonderful Prayer is a profound decla- 
ration of our own utter un worthiness to offer any sacri- 
fice, with the final petition for acceptance with the Father 
through His Blessed Son. And at the last is an ascription 
of highest honour and glory to the Triune God, in which, 
as in all other parts of this Consecration, the people share 
by their " Amen " of assent, thus proclaiming the comple- 
mental truth of the " priesthood of the laity." The strong- 
est safeguard against doctrinal divisions and the heart- 
burnings and schisms resultant thereon, is a just and inclu- 
sive view of the comprehensive character of this Blessed 
Sacrament, which nevertheless requires only the elemental 
qualities of repentance, faith and charity to receive its sav- 
ing grace. 

Rubrical permission for the singing of a HYMN before 
the Administration does not exist in the English use, 
though in the First Book it was expressly ordered that 
" so soon as the Priest doth receive, in the Communion 
time the clerks shall sing " both sentences of the Agnus 



234 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Dei (O Lamb of God, etc.) Here, then, is the fitting place 
under our own rubric for this beautiful choral petition 
(though not addressed to the Father); or for the Hymn 
Benedictus qui venit, lately referred to in connection with 
the Ter Sanctus. The old custom of a soft and devo- 
tional musical accompaniment on the organ through the 
entire Administration adds greatly to the reverent and 
devout feeling of communicants. 

The evidently proper posture of the congregation is 
still kneeling, though no rubric indicates it, as indeed 
none declares where they are to present themselves to 
receive. By parity of reasoning it is often held that the 
Priest does not change his posture during his own Com- 
munion, but remains standing while administering to 
himself first in both kinds. If he have assistants he next 
administers to them in order, who are then free to take 
part in communicating the congregation. As directed in 
the First Book the Celebrant administers the Bread, and 
his Deacon or assistant the Wine. The Diocesan Bishop, 
if present, would ordinarily be the Celebrant ; and the 
Priest, when the Celebrant, is always himself to commune, 
without regard to frequency of Celebrations. 

In the Eastern Church the Priest leaves the Sanctuary 
and comes even into the Nave to administer. The stand- 
ing posture, with the body inclined, is there observed by 
the recipient, on the theory that on Sundays and Holy- 
days joy is more befitting than humiliation. But lowly 
reverence is not inconsistent with joy and thanksgiving, 
and kneeling with us is here prescribed ; a posture which 
the devout communicant will do well to maintain during 
all the time before and after his own Reception, which is 



CONSECRATION PRAYER, ADMINISTRATION. 235 

devoted to prayer and meditation. If any unoccupied 
time still remain, or if he is delayed in his progress toward 
the Communion-rail, this attitude is still the proper one 
to preserve, as in the immediate and especial Presence of 
the King of Kings. Wandering thoughts and idle glances 
may easily be banished by devotional reading and a con- 
scientious endeavour to realize the spiritual aspects of the 
Service. 

The Clergy present and then the communicating mem- 
bers of a vested Choir, being really a part of the Ministry, 
should precede the congregation. Originally the sexes 
were communicated separately, the male members first. 
A careful, reverent, and constant order of progress should 
be observed, taking pains to avoid even the appearance 
of crowding, obstruction or delay. Each communicant 
should proceed immediately to the farthest unoccupied 
space, keeping the Rail first filled on the side of the Chancel 
(generally the South) where the Administration begins. 

The kneeling should be upright, with veil lifted and 
hands ungloved. To avoid a careless Reception and 
possible loss of the Bread, it should never be taken in the 
fingers, but received upon the open palm of the right hand 
supported by the left, and thus conveyed to the mOuth. 
St. Cyril says, " make thy left hand a throne for thy right 
about to receive a King." In receiving the Wine from the 
Chalice it is perhaps better to allow the Priest to hold it, 
the recipient guiding it by the base with the hands. 
Rome denies the Cup altogether to the laity, and the 
Eastern Church violates the complete order which Christ 
left us, by a single administration of the Bread dipped in 



236 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



the Wine, using a spoon for the purpose. This practice is 
called Intinction. 

The formula of the ADMINISTRATION of each Element 
is in two parts. Their first Sentences, known as the " Ben- 
ediction " ("The Body," etc., "The Blood," etc.), were all 
that were given in the First Book ; while the second, or 
the "Address" (" Take," etc., " Drink," etc.), were substi- 
tuted by the Puritans, who wished to minimize the sacra- 
mental teaching. In the present English and American 
use they are combined, thereby appropriating the Bene- 
diction to each communicant. Although the full repetition 
may weary the Priest at large or frequent Celebrations, its 
personal significance is impaired if said but once for a 
number of communicants. In the First Book the rubrical 
direction says " to every one," while in the present English 
Book it is equally emphatic, saying "to any one"; and 
the communicant has an inherent right to an individual 
repetition. 

Primitive custom sanctions the private use of an 
"Amen " by the recipient. His spiritual attitude during 
this part of the Office should comprise the humble effort to 
realize the truths involved in the Presence of Christ, a 
petition for personal pardon and grace, and the inclusion 
therein of others our brethren, often with an especial inten- 
tion. In withdrawing from the Rail, less distraction is 
caused if a way of return to the Nave may be arranged 
separated from those still advancing. The silent prayer 
and thanksgiving which follow our return should be 
greatly prevailing for ourselves and for others in whose 
behalf we offer petitions, now that we have just received 
Christ Himself within us. On no account but that of 



CONSECRATION PRAYER, ADMINISTRATION. 237 



sheer necessity should the communicant allow himself to 
leave the Church at this point, as the unity of the Office is 
mutilated and its effect greatly lessened thereby, as well 
as an indignity done to Christ Himself. 

The rubric concerning "opportunity to communicate " 
is for the prevention of solitary Receptions of the Priest 
alone, which are entirely foreign to and subversive of a 
true Communion. It ought, on the other hand, to be 
borne in mind that in the case of a great liturgical func- 
tion which involves a vast throng of worshippers, it is no 
limitation of the rights of individuals if the Eucharistic 
Reception is restricted to those most nearly concerned in 
such a special and occasional Service. 



XXII. 



THE POST-COMMUNION. 



" That we are very members incorporate in the mystical 
body of Thy Son, which is the blessed company of all faithful 
people."— The Post-Communion Thanksgiving. 

" Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will 
towards men. * * * * 

" For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou 
only, Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the 
glory of God the Father."— -The Gloria in Excelsis. 

HE remainder of the Communion Office is called the 



- POST-COMMUNION. With greatest reverence for 
what is still Christ's Body and Blood, the Priest covers the 
consecrated Elements which remain with the Corporal Cor 
" fair linen cloth"). In the First Book, at this point, a table 
of twenty-two beautiful Sentences of Holy Scripture was 
provided, " called the Post-Communion," which the Clerks 
were directed to sing " every day one, when the Commun- 
ion is ended." Where the communicants do not in num- 
ber exceed such as can be communicated at one filling of 
the Altar-rail, it is a profitable and suggestive practice for 
them to remain there through the rest of the Office. By 
personal nearness, without the scattering and diversion 
which a return to the Nave produces, some of the truths 
of Christian Brotherhood are more intimately realized. 

In all Divine Liturgies the LORD'S PRAYER is placed 
in a position of high honour, as indeed it is in all other 




THE POST-COMMUNION. 



239 



Offices. In the First Book it occurred immediately after 
the Consecration, but here the first words of Priest and 
people after the Reception are Christ's own, the full form 
with its ascription of praise being used. 

The THANKSGIVING PRAYER was written for the 
First Book, and was intended to restore a hitherto lost 
feature of primitive Liturgies, as medievalism had con- 
tented itself with a Thanksgiving for the Priest alone. In 
the English Book it now appears as an alternative form, 
the other being the closing portion of our Prayer of Conse- 
cration. By the term " holy mysteries " the Church here 
as elsewhere recognizes the mystical feature of all Sacra- 
mental teaching, in firm opposition to the rationalism 
which would compromise with the spirit of the world. 
The spiritual Feeding on Christ's Body and Blood, the 
Pledge of God's " favour and goodness," our Incorporation 
into " the blessed company of all faithful people," and our 
Heirship through hope in the Kingdom of the Blessed are 
all dwelt upon, and the Prayer closes with a petition for 
the grace of continuance and good fruit. 

No other Liturgy except the Anglican has so magnificent 
a conclusion as the GLORIA IN EXCELS IS, which is the 
"Great Doxology " or Morning Hymn of the Eastern 
Church and its counterpart to the Latin Te Deum. Rome 
first transplanted it into the Liturgy and the English 
Church took it from her. The First Book has it at the be- 
ginning of the Office, but, as the great " Hymn of the 
Incarnation," it is more fitting to be sung here ; as the 
Twelve before they went out sang at the Passover the 
Great Hallel Hymn, whose final strains it strikingly recalls. 
Some other "proper " Hymn may be substituted, as in Lent 



240 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



or at some other Season less joyous than ordinary. "All 
standing " (and, as in other Glorias, facing the East), Priest, 
Choristers and people unite in this glorious outburst of 
praise, taking upon their lips the heavenly Song with 
which He was first welcomed whose Presence we have 
just realized. It is the second Angelical Hymn in the 
Eucharistic Office, and was sung at the stake by St. Poly- 
carp, the martyr-disciple of St. John. 

It is addressed to the Father and the Son, yet the Holy 
Ghost is distinctly recognized in its closing ascription. 
Like the Te Deum, it is Hymn, Creed and Prayer in one, 
particularly resembling the Creed in its threefold arrange- 
ment. Other Scriptural versions of less decisive authority 
render the last words of its first sentence, " on earth peace 
to men of good- will." The outburst of worship in the 
second sentence culminates in "giving thanks." Its sec- 
ond division is both Creed and Prayer — Creed as reciting 
the attributes of " the only-begotten Son," the " Lamb of 
God Prayer in the fourfold repetition of the Agnus 
Dei, addressed in its last form to Christ as the Mediator 
at God's right hand. The name Jesus, the human name 
of Our Lord, carries with it the same sanction for bowing 
the head here as in the similar clause of the Creeds. In 
its sublime Doxology the last thought is of God's Triune 
Majesty alone. 

Any of the five familiar COLLECTS which are printed 
after the Blessing, and which are so often used in the Daily 
Service, may be inserted at this point at discretion. This is 
also done with other especial petitions for others on proper 
occasion, as of sickness or bereavement, thus realizing with 
peculiar force the blessings of Eucharistic intercession. 



THE POST-COMMUNION. 



241 



The Collects named are respectively for defence, ingrafting, 
guidance, compassionate aid, and acceptance. The Eng- 
lish Book adds a sixth, which is our Collect for Sanctifica- 
tion (after the Summary of the Law), and directs one of 
these to be also said " after the Offertory, when there is no 
Communion." They were all composed in 1549 or trans- 
lated from the Sarum Use. 

The BLESSING is in two parts, the first of which is 
called the " Peace of God " and is rather an intercession 
for that which follows, being an amplification of the Pax 
vobiscum of Philippians iv. 7, inserted here for the first 
time at the Reformation. The second part is a most 
ancient form of Benediction, and is used by itself in the 
Confirmation Office ; and the whole undoubtedly conveys 
a real benefit when received in faith. It was originally the 
sole prerogative of the Bishop to confer it (who still retains 
his priority if present), and it should never be used by a 
Deacon or Lay -reader, for " without all contradiction the 
less is blessed of the better." The Jewish Church received 
a blessing from its Priesthood, who stood with uplifted 
hands in imparting it. And so, after the pattern of Our 
Lord on the Mount of Ascension, the Christian Priest " lets 
them depart with this Blessing." As Christ gave the dis- 
ciples His Peace just after the original Institution, this 
completest form should not be employed elsewhere, but 
the Blessing of Peace be reserved for this Office alone. 

The English Book has some rubrical directions follow- 
ing here which do not exist as such with us. That concern- 
ing the habitual use of the Ante-Communion terminates 
it with the Prayer for the Church Militant instead of with 
the Gospel, as we have it ; but in neither case is the 

(16) 



242 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



direction to be construed as favourable to a limitation on 
the frequency of Celebrations. It is evident from these 
English rubrics that a weekly Celebration was the normal 
order, and this is expressly ordered in Cathedrals and Col- 
leges, except for reasonable cause. Three Communions in 
the year, of which that on Easter-day is to be one, are 
there absolutely obligatory on every communicant, as 
expressing the very minimum of possible service. 

After the Blessing, and before departure from the 
Church, come the reverent CONSUMPTION of the remain- 
der of the consecrated Elements, and the PURIFICATION 
by the Priest of the sacred Vessels with pure water before 
their removal. This is done for obvious seemly reasons 
and to prevent any subsequent ordinary or superstitious 
use ; and in the Consumption communicants are directed 
to join if needed, coming forward to the Chancel-rail for 
that purpose. The objective reality of this Sacrament is 
thus guarded as well as its spiritual aspect, and the con- 
gregation remains kneeling. The RETROCESSIONAL 
HYMN with which Priest and Choir depart may well be 
preceded during this observance by an organ voluntary, 
or better still by the singing of the Hymn Nunc Dimittis, 
which dwells on the blessings of the Incarnation. After 
the last strains of the Recessional and a moment of silent 
thanksgiving, the distant Vestry Prayer, with the Amen of 
the Choristers, closes the Service. 

The practice of Reservation, or the careful and reverent 
setting aside of a portion of the consecrated Elements be- 
fore Consumption, for the sole use of the sick and dying, is 
testified to as a primitive usage on the authority of Justin 
Martyr. In the First Book this was expressly directed to 



THE POST-COMMUNION. 



243 



be done, by a rubric in the Office for the Communion of 
the Sick, where it is said, "And if the same day there shall 
be a celebration of the Holy Communion in the Church, 
then shall the Priest reserve at the open Communion so 
much of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood as shall 
serve the sick person, and so many as shall communicate 
with him, if there be any. * * * And if there be 
more sick to be visited, then shall he reserve so much 
* * * as shall serve the other sick psrsons, and such 
as be appointed to communicate with them. * * * " 

Undoubtedly the fear of the superstitious idolatry of 
the Middle Ages was the cause of the removal of this 
instruction from the present English Book and our own. 
But its abandonment is a deprivation of a time-honoured 
rubrical privilege to the often overworked Clergy, a breach 
in the continuity of Catholic practice, and might easily 
entail a serious loss to the dying. The physical condi- 
tions which often surround the death-bed of the wretched 
but faithful poor, or of the victims of epidemic disease or 
accident and " sudden death," make a reverent and seemly 
Consecration at that time well-nigh impossible ; and pos- 
rdbly its very length might make the actual Administra- 
tion too late. Adequate provision against the profanation 
ot the Sacrament can readily be provided in the Church- 
building itself, especially in great city Parishes, where 
such need is more frequent and imperative ; and Episco- 
pal authority may perhaps sanction this merciful provis- 
ion under proper safeguards. 



XXIII. 



HOLY BAPTISM. 



" A death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness :for 
being by nature bom in sin, and the children of wrath, we 
are hereby made the children of grace." — The Catechism. 

" Baptism doth represent unto us our profession; which is, 
to follow the example of our Saviour Christ, and to be made 
like unto Him.'''' — The Exhortation to Adults in the Baptis- 
mal Office. 



AVING completed our analysis of the ordinary and 



A regular Offices of public worship, we come now to 
the consideration of such as may be termed Occasional. 
Some of these can never be repeated, and others are more 
or less private and individual in their nature. The first 
in order here, as it is first in order and time in the Chris- 
tian life, is the Ministration of the Sacrament of Holy 
Baptism; which is set forth under three distinct Offices, 
i, e., the PUBLIC BAPTISM OF INFANTS, the PRIVATE 
BAPTISM OF CHILDREN, and the BAPTISM OF THOSE 
OF RIPER YEARS. These are, of course, essentially, and 
even verbally in great measure, the same Office, with such 
variations only as are necessary to suit the exigencies of 
occasion and circumstance. 

The doctrinal aspect of Holy Baptism has been touched 
upon under the proper clause in the Catholic Creeds of 
Christendom, of which it is an unvarying constituent. The 
formula of words and the element applied are of Our Lord's 




244 



HOLT BAPTISM. 



245 



own specific ordinance, and are therefore always and unal- 
terably binding. Others of our countless and undeserved 
mercies may be and are uncovenanted ; this is a cove- 
nanted pledge forever, a Sacrament generally (i. e., where 
it may be had) necessary to all men in order to salvation. 
Christ indeed might have chosen another element or an- 
other formula, or His sovereign grace might have dispensed 
with either. But, knowing our human need and craving 
for a visible sign, He ordained the element of water, admin- 
istered in the name of the Holy Trinity, to be the essence 
of the Rite of admission to the Christian Church. 

It was not a new Rite, but one already well known to the 
Jewish Church as the mode of admission for heathen pros- 
elytes, in addition to Circumcision. It was therefore not 
an immediate creation but an adaptation by Our Lord, 
and an extension to the use and obligation of all mankind. 
The Baptism of His forerunner John the Baptizer was only 
to the end of the repentance of the recipient, and its for- 
mula, if such it had, is unknown. The Baptism of Christ 
is through repentance unto salvation by faith, accompanied 
by the grace of God. He himself, though guiltless, sub- 
mitted not only to Circumcision but also to John's Bap- 
tism, in order to " fulfil all righteousness," and to make 
Himself in this, as in all else, the Perfect Example. With 
the dying Hebrew Dispensation Circumcision passed away, 
but Baptism remains an express ordinance alike to Jew 
and Gentile. 

The Church has never narrowed her demand to an exact 
mode in the physical application of the element of water, 
as is insisted on by some Christian bodies ; nowhere find- 
ing either Scriptural or traditional warrant therefor. The 



246 THE CHURCH' IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



best historical suggestions derived from drawings on the 
walls of the Catacombs and from other early sources, seem to 
indicate that Our Lord went down partly into the Jordan 
and there received its waters poured upon His sacred head 
by St. John. Too much stress has sometimes been laid 
on the Oriental custom of total immersion in the rivers of 
a sunny climate ; which certainly does not convey an 
unalterable warrant of its obligation by that mode in 
other lands or under other circumstances. He who 
demanded mercy rather than sacrifice could never have 
exacted such an unnecessary and often cruel shock to 
shrinking susceptibilities, or the endangering of delicate 
health, as a requisite for admission into His kingdom of 
grace. Nor can St. Paul's figure of speech, " buried by 
Baptism," be unwarrantably pressed into service to sus- 
tain this view. 

The Greek verb "baptizein" is applied in both the Gos- 
pels and the Old Testament to the cleansing or ceremonial 
purification of vessels and tables, which it is not reason- 
able to suppose were necessarily immersed for that pur- 
pose. It is not apparent that Christ Himself baptized, but 
His disciples immediately did so, beginning with the three 
thousand converts in the city of Jerusalem, at the preach- 
ing of St. Peter on the Day of Pentecost. It is not credible 
that such a vast assemblage where no body of water 
existed, or that the converted jailer in the prison at 
Phiiippi, could have received Baptism by the mode of 
total immersion. 

The first Gentile Baptism was that of Cornelius the 
centurion, as that of the jailer just named was the first 
on the soil of Europe. John's own disciples were baptized 



HOLY BAPTISM. 



247 



anew "in the name of the Lord Jesus;" and many of 
them had not before " so much as heard whether there be 
any Holy Ghost"; i. e., they were ignorant up to that 
time of the universal and normal formula of admission to 
membership in the Christian body. The mode is regarded 
by the Church as immaterial to the validity of the ordi- 
nance ; Immersion (or dipping), Aspersion (or sprinkling), 
and Affusion (or pouring), have all been practiced with 
sanction, though the second, from the uncertainty regard- 
ing the contact of the water, is irregular \ and Affusion is 
the normal order. 

The validity, or sufficiency, of its administration by 
laymen, or even lay women, has always been recognized by 
the Church where the necessities of the occasion justify it. 
It is as if any might stretch forth a helping hand from the 
ark of Christ's Church and seize upon suffering humanity 
perishing in the " waves of this troublesome world," if 
the act is done in the name of Christ and through His 
appointed means. Thus is a true priesthood of the laity 
again recognized, in the possession, if not of the official 
right, yet of the indubitable power, of rescue. S uch recog- 
nition is, of course, tacit and confined to cases of virtual 
necessity. The act itself can never be undone, and can 
never be repeated without sacrilege. Guilt is therefore 
incurred by the baptizer, even though good ensues to the 
recipient, if thus administered without due cause. 

The opening words of the Office, both of that for Infants 
and that for Adults, manifest the Church's careful solici- 
tude not, even through inadvertence, to rebaptize. At the 
end both of the Private and of the Adult Baptismal 
Offices is provided a special form, with explanatory rubrics, 



248 



THE CHURCH IX THE PRAYER BOOK. 



for what is called Hypothetical Baptism. This is to be em- 
ployed when reasonable doubt exists as to the fact of a 
previous reception of the Rite, and secures its covenant 
blessing, without a thoughtless repetition. In the present 
anomalous state of the manifold sects in Christendom, 
and of the fearful carelessness and indifference which 
everywhere prevail as to the Sacrament itself, as well as to 
the safeguards which should have surrounded the recep- 
tion and registry of such an important act in infancy, 
these precautions of our careful and Holy Mother, the 
Church, are abundantly well justified. 

Since Baptism is the Rite of admission to membership 
in the Holy Catholic Church, and since Lay-baptism, or 
Baptism by other than the hands of a Christian Priest- 
hood, is recognized as valid, it follows that the vast body 
of baptized Christian believers outside the Apostolic 
Church are as really members of the Church Universal as 
those within its fold. As such they are not yet entitled to 
all the privileges of a full membership, any more than a 
novitiate in a Lodge of Freemasonry implies full acquaint- 
ance with all the degrees of that ancient Order, which has 
points of similarity to the Christian Church. But mem- 
bers they undoubtedly are, in the one case as in the other, 
in the sense that no new conditions of entrance can be 
imposed by any, as none have ever been by the Church. 

In the present state of unrest and dissatisfaction which 
agitates a disorganized and warring Christianity, the 
thought should strike deep root that to obtain actual 
present membership in the historic Church whence all 
Christendom has sprung, absolutely nothing is necessary 
except to make claim to the heritage and enter at once 



HOLY BAPTISM. 



249 



upon the birthright with all the inestimable privileges 
which attend a faithful learner. Such an attitude would 
immediately involve the surrender of -the sect- idea, so 
dwarfing to a true conception of the Church Catholic, and 
a casting-off of the limitations which would hedge about 
a true discipleship with extended Professions of Faith 
that are only the " mint, anise and cumin " of human opin- 
ions, and would lay down conditions of allegiance which 
neither the Master nor His Apostles ever intimated as 
necessary. Only so can the true breadth and dignity of a 
Church which is more than a fragment of Christ's seam- 
less robe be truly realized. 

About the essentials of the Sacrament of Baptism, as in 
that of the Lord's Supper (though in the latter more largely), 
has grown up in the course of ages a large variety of solemn 
and significant ritual. As shown by the introductory ru- 
brics in all three Offices, its Administration should always 
be public in the Church ; and no other manner is recog- 
nized except in emergencies. Wherever this publicity has 
fallen into disuse, imperfect conceptions of the doctrine 
itself have sprung up. The people are admonished to 
choose Sundays or Holy-days for this purpose, and to be 
ready to make use of the Office in connection with either 
Morning or Evening Prayer, in the Minister's discretion. 
A larger number of witnesses is then present than at other 
times, and more may bear testimony to the solemnity of 
the Rite ; while such as are already members should be 
reminded thereby of the importance of their own vows. 
In a rubric before the Private Office parents are warned 
not to defer it for their children beyond the first or second 
Sunday after birth, unless for great and reasonable cause. 



250 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Our Lord complied with the Jewish law in this regard and 
was circumcised on the eighth day. 

The original Seasons set apart as peculiarly appropriate 
for this Rite were Easter and Whitsunday, to which Epiph- 
any was afterwards added ; and Easter Even is still the 
principal time for the Baptism of children. But any day 
may be employed, if judged necessary or expedient. Due 
notice of intention is to be given to the Minister by parents 
or Sponsors before Morning Prayer ; in the English Book 
w over night " is named. When adults contemplate its re- 
ception, " timely notice " is to be given (in the English 
Book at least a week), in order that inquiry may be made 
into their instruction in the principles of the Christian 
religion, and to afford them opportunity for preparation 
by Prayer and Fasting. 

The command was to " baptize all nations," without 
distinction of age, and Infant Baptism has been universal 
from the beginning. No categorical direction for it is to 
be found in the New Testament, but none need be expected, 
any more than for the sanctity of the First Day of the week 
or other already existing and familiar observances. Our 
Lord's own expressed and tender welcome of the little 
ones, so consonant with the natural impulses of the human 
heart, is sanction enough, and at first whole households 
were baptized . For a boy, two male Sponsors should be pro- 
vided and one female, and for a girl the reverse, which in 
America may or may not include the parents ; in England 
the latter are not reckoned. In case the parents are not * 
themselves communicants, a fivefold promise is better. 
That the congregation may be better instructed, the ordi- 
nary time appointed is after the Second Lesson in the 



HOLY BAPTISM. 



251 



Daily Service, it being thus almost immediately and very 
appropriately followed by the recital of the Articles of the 
Christian Faith in the Apostles' Creed. 

The American use is almost identical with the English 
Book, but varies from the more ancient rituals in being 
fuller of exhortation — a feature introduced at the Refor- 
mation. Before that time there were three separate and 
somewhat complicated Services, from which ours is con- 
densed, i. e., the Admission of Catechumens, the Benedic- 
tion of the Font ; and the Baptism itself. The Office is all 
said at the Font (from " fount " or " fountain "), a hollow 
bowl-shaped receptacle of stone or metal, which is some- 
times erected into a distinct Baptistery with a kneeling rail 
of its own and a space within for the Minister beside the 
Font. If the equipment be complete, there will also be 
a cover to the Font, which may be raised and lowered by a 
chain, being closed except when in use ; and also a Ewer, or 
decorous vessel for the purpose of providing pure water, from 
which the Font is to be partly filled just before the Service 
begins, in the sight of the congregation. The Font should 
always be provided with a drain to secure continual purity, 
and a Shell is sometimes used, fitted to the hand, whence 
the water is poured. 

The Font is occasionally placed near the main entrance 
of the Church, opposite the Chancel and behind the con- 
gregation. But the simile of the door of entrance can be 
better carried out if its location be as is usual near an upper 
door in the Nave and outside the Chancel-arch at one side, 
in full view of the congregation. Baptismal emblems are 
the Cross, the Dove and the Scroll. It is not seemly that 
the interior of the Font, which is the symbol of Purity, 



252 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



should be utilized as a receptacle for flowers or other 
decorations. For a private Administration, Parishes are 
generally provided with a small and portable service of 
silver. 

The complete Office for Infants is now in four parts, 
the first of which is the INTRODUCTION, which extends 
to the address to the Sponsors ; and the congregation, after 
the approach of the parties to the Font, are to stand as 
witnesses until the Lord's Prayer. The general Address, 
which was not used in mediaeval times, sets forth the 
object of Baptism as the remedy for original sin and as a 
means of grace, cites Our Lord's words to Nicodemus on 
Regeneration, and bids the congregation to prayer for a 
blessing to the candidate. The Prayers are alternative in 
form, the first one citing the story of the Ark at the 
Deluge and the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites, 
each a lively symbol of sin and of salvation in the Church 
by means of that universal sacramental element which 
mystically washes away sins even as it has destroyed sinful 
people. Following this in the First Book was the Signing 
of the Cross on the child's brow and breast. In the second 
Prayer Christ is personally addressed as God, and His own 
words are appealed to as the ground of our faith in asking 
His heavenly aid. This was again followed in the First 
Book by a form of exorcism, the Priest calling on Satan, 
as a lying and cursed spirit, to depart out of the child. 
This portion was dropped by the revisers as liable to super- 
stitious abuse. 

We differ from the present English Book here in hav- 
ing the rubrical liberty to omit, for the sake of shortening 
the Service, what follows from this point to the questions 



HOLY BAPTISM. 



253 



addressed to the Sponsors, provided this intermediate 
portion be said at least once in every month, if there be 
a Baptism. Direct Gospel warrant is then cited in the nar- 
rative of Christ's blessing to little children, followed by a 
beautiful Exhortation on the same, in turn succeeded by a 
Collect of thanksgiving ; in which latter the congregation 
join, perhaps because it was originally preceded at this 
point by the Lord's Prayer and the Creed. All of this in- 
troductory part of the Service was said originally in the 
Church porch, as a part of the Office for the Admission of 
Catechumens ; and when it was concluded the Priest and 
candidates advanced into the Church and to the Font. 



HOLY BAPTISM. 



" Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid 
them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say 
unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as 
a little child,he shall not enter therein." — St. Mark x. 14, 15. 



REFACED by a brief and succinct, yet comprehensive 



Exhortation to the Sponsors, the second division is 
the BAPTISMAL VOW, made by them in behalf of the 
child, putting the latter in the same state of authoritative 
tutelage and direction in spiritual things as in things 
secular and social. From earliest times some form of 
interrogation has been employed in Baptism, as in the 
case of St. Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, and of St. 
Timothy's "profession before many witnesses." The 
parties to the Covenant are, through their natural and 
commissioned representatives, "God and a little child," 
and the Vow required is a threefold one of renunciation, 
faith and obedience, the same as in the other Sacrament. 
This vow, though made for an unconscious infant by the 
lips of others, is binding on that infant when come to 
riper years, because ev&cy intrinsically right act is binding 
in itself, and would be so whether promised or not. The 
vow entails thus no added burden on weak human nature, 
but, on the other hand, prepares its maker for a true spir- 
itual grace and gift. It is brought home individually to 




254 



HOLY BAPTISM. 



255 



the conscience of each of the Sponsors (or sureties), who 
are here called by the good old Anglo-Saxon names of 
Godfather and Godmother. 

Corresponding to the triple temptation of our first 
parents in Eden, triumphantly resisted by Our Lord in 
the wilderness after His Baptism, the vow of renunciation 
is also threefold— of the devil, the world and the flesh ; that 
is, of those vain, covetous and carnal desires to which all 
fallen humanity is subject, the lust of the flesh, the lust of 
the eyes and the pride of life. The question was divi- 
ded into three, with separate answers, in the First Book, 
but then and now that answer in the English Book is only 
the first clause of our own. It was anciently accompanied 
by a gesture of abjuration of Satan alone, facing the West 
as the quarter toward which heathendom worshipped. 

The vow of faith is in both the English Books also 
threefold (in the First Book the questions have a thrice- 
repeated answer). There it is the Apostles' Creed in its ear- 
liest Western form (which was interrogative for this Office), 
and under its three clauses ; which with us are unfortu- 
nately only referred to as " all the Articles of the Christian 
Faith." After the expressed desire for Baptism, the First 
Book proceeds immediately to its administration without 
the vow of obedience and the succeeding Prayers (though 
obedience is implied in belief). This vow is to walk in 
God's holy will and Commandments all the days "of life, 
and is given "by God's help," which latter words are 
omitted in the English Book. Now, as anciently, the vows 
are made facing the East (or Sanctuary), and are of course 
to be responded to audibly by each Sponsor. 

The first four of the Petitions following are derived from 



25G 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



the Gallican Church, and were originally part of the Service 
called the Benediction of the Font. They are, on behalf 
of the candidate, for the burial of sin, growth in grace, 
victory and final reward. The fifth is in all ancient Offices 
both Eastern and Western, and is a Benediction of the 
water and an Invocation of blessing on the ordinance itself, 
appealing to the mystery of Oar Lord's Redemption and 
His abiding mission to His Apostles. Though no sacra- 
mental change is effected in the element of water, this cor- 
responds to the Consecration Prayer in the Communion 
Office, both in position and significance. Fresh water 
must of course be blessed at each Service, which act is 
customarily symbolized by the Sign of the Cross made in 
the element itself. 

What has preceded is only preparatory to the actual 
BAPTISM, which is made in every way significant. Tak- 
ing the child, if an infant, upon the left arm of the Priest, 
or by the hand as he kneels if older, is a token of the arms 
of God's mercy ; and the bestowing upon it of a Christian 
name (indicated by the Latin N. for IS omen or name) gives 
it henceforth a separate Christian individuality. In the 
English Book partial Immersion (or dipping) and Affu- 
sion (or pouring) are separately directed according to the 
child's strength as certified by the Sponsors. In the First 
Book the former was administered by dipping alternately 
the right and left side and then the face toward the Font, 
" so it be discreetly and warily done." As has been said, 
the ordinary mode is now that of pouring, from the right 
hand or from a shell, upon the top of the head freely, 
making sure of actual contact with the water. The Priest's 
hand should be filled before the words are spoken, and a. 



HOLY BAPTISM. 



257 



separate pouring from the Font at the name of each Person 
in the Trinity into which the child is baptized is better, 
this being called " Trine Affusion." 

As enunciated in the Catechism, this act makes its 
recipient " a member of Christ, the child of God, and an 
inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." The Reception that 
follows and completes this section of the Office was not in 
the First Book, which preserved here the ancient symbolic 
ceremony of putting upon the child by the Priest "his 
white vesture, commonly called the Crisome," with a 
proper form of words. This was a token of Innocency, 
and was followed by Anointing on the head, with a Prayer 
for the Unction of the Holy Spirit. Our own form of Re- 
ception has no sacramental character, but betokens Ac- 
knowledgment and Dedication, it having preceded Baptism 
in the First Book. The natural and beautiful Signing of 
the Cross upon the forehead comes from very early times, 
as in the Holy Eucharist and in Confirmation, and the 
permission to omit it, which arose from the violent oppo- 
sition of the Puritan party, is practically never claimed by 
Sponsors, and is not to be found in the English Book. 

The POST-BAPTISMAL section is, in its construction, 
not unlike the Post- Communion. The Declaration upon 
the Regeneration which has just been accomplished, likens 
it to the Ingrafting upon a living Vine, having now within 
it the germ of grace and sanctification, which shall develop 
in proportion as the child matures in the faith and obedi- 
ence of his vow, as well as in outward stature. He has 
changed his condition, assumed a new state, been born 
into a Kingdom of grace and enrolled as Christ's faithful 
soldier and servant. As such he indubitably receives a 

(17) 



258 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



sacramental grace not otherwise promised — a grace which 
will be continued as long as on his side the conditions of 
Christian effort are met. His original sin is done away 
and he is justified, for none can doubt that baptized 
infants are surely saved. Sanctification, however, is a con- 
stant growth and requires the assent of the human will; 
but the allegiance of the young soldier now challenges 
and commands the peculiar protection of His Almighty 
Captain, though he may never be able to appeal to experi- 
ences of conversion, save in the normal method of many 
turnings away from sinful courses. 

Neither this Declaration nor the Lord's Prayer was in 
the First Book, but here the latter has a most honourable 
position, at the words of which the Priest and congregation 
kneel. The Thanksgiving (also absent from the First Book), 
is also a Prayer for continued perseverance in well-doing, 
that the child, now adopted into Christ's Church, may by 
the virtue of His Resurrection become finally an inheritor 
in actual possession of His everlasting kingdom. The 
Service closes with a specific Exhortation to the Sponsors 
to see that, so far as they are concerned, nothing is left 
undone in the child's behalf. He is to know the nature 
of his vow the better by hearing godly instruction by the 
Priest through Sermons, but chiefly by learning the Creed, 
the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments. He is to 
be trained up to lead a godly and a Christian life, and is 
to be presented for the further grace of Confirmation at 
the hands of the Bishop, so soon as he has mastered these 
elements of Christian education and is thus sufficiently 
appreciative of the distinctions between right and wrong. 

From the weighty nature of these obligations, some 



HOLT BAPTISM. 



259 



things are evident. Sponsors must always be religious 
persons themselves, i. e., baptized, and if possible commu- 
nicants. Unfaithfulness on their part will most likely, in 
default of helpful parental influence, affect the child's eter- 
nal welfare, and it would be their unquestioned duty to 
magnify their office in case of neglect at home. The serious 
character of this work makes it often an act of charity which 
good Church people should be not only willing but anx- 
ious to undertake ; but it should at the same time mean to 
them something more real than a temporary convenience 
of the occasion or what has been called, sometimes with 
too sad reason, the mere "tableau of the Font." Their 
duty lies upon them not fully discharged, until Confirma- 
tion is received and the vows are ratified in person. Dur- 
ing this Exhortation all are to rise and remain standing 
till the Service is concluded, the whole being immediately 
followed, unless used independently, by the proper Canti- 
cle in the Daily Service. This entire Office is used also 
with older children, who have not yet reached years of 
discretion. 

The dangers of delay from sickness, or other " great 
cause and necessity," alone warrant the Office of PRI- 
VATE BAPTISM in houses, which Office may be used 
also for adults under similar need. The possible substi- 
tution of some other Minister of the Church, the provision 
for elimination of preliminary matter except the Lord's 
Prayer and Collects, and the direction to employ the mode 
of Affusion only, testify to the urgency which promotes 
the rubric ; the Thanksgiving only is to follow the Ad- 
ministration, which is here pronounced to be entirely 
valid. But it is also declared expedient that in case of 



260 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



survival the child should be afterward brought to Church 
at a public Service, that the congregation may be certified 
of the previous act ; for which Certification the Parish Priest 
is to use one of the forms provided as stated in the rubric, 
after satisfying himself that all was properly done in case 
of his own absence. In the English Book this care ex- 
tends to the provision of a definite set of questions by 
which the Priest is so to assure himself. But it should 
be remembered that these express directions do not pro- 
nounce Lay-Baptism invalid if administered in proper 
form. 

The word " christen " is used in one of these rubrics, 
which suggests the thought that this term should not be 
secularly employed, as is now too common, but reserved for 
the holy use which its derivation and history demand. Fol- 
lowing the Certification is then to come the child's public 
Reception " as one of the flock of true Christian people," 
by the use of the Public Office beginning with the Gospel; 
substituting the Lord's Prayer for the Petition (which has 
been already answered), before the Exhortation to the Spon- 
sors ; omitting that Exhortation but retaining the Vows 
(which perhaps had not been made in private) ; and pre- 
serving all the rest of the Office except the actual Admin- 
istration and the Prayers preceding it. 

The Office of ADULT BAPTISM does not appear in 
the First Book, the reason being that it was not needed 
until Cromwell's day and the growth of the errors of Ana- 
baptist teaching ; Infant Baptism before that time being 
universal. The Preface to the Prayer Book in 1662 states 
also that " it may be useful for the baptizing of natives in 
our plantations [in America] and others converted to the 



HOLY BAPTISM. 



261 



Faith." Its opening Exhortation recognizes "actual " as 
well as original sin, and its Gospel is the story of Our 
Lord's conversation with Nicodemus upon Regeneration. 
The Exhortation thereon dwells on that declaration by 
Our Lord, His Mission to the Apostles, and the teaching 
of St. Peter as to the necessity of repentance and faith as 
preparatory to Baptism ; all of which are expressly ap- 
plicable to Adults. 

The vows are made by the candidate alone in person 
" in the presence of the Sponsors as their ivitnesses" and his 
own posture during the Administration is kneeling, stand- 
ing afterward at the Reception. The final Addresses are 
made partly to the witnesses and partly to the newly -bap- 
tized ; and the succeeding rubric enjoins Confirmation " as 
soon as conveniently may be ; that so he may be admitted 
to the Holy Communion." A shortened form is provided 
by rubric for Adults " in case of great necessity." The 
remaining rubrical directions regard the orderly and log- 
ical mingling of the Offices for Adults and Infants or 
Children, when they are used for both at the same time ; 
all of which should be carefully explained to the parties 
by the Priest beforehand, in order to avoid confusion and 
secure a reverential participation. 



XXY. 



THE CATECHISM. 

" Forasmuch as this child hath promised by you his sure- 
ties to renounce the devil and all his works, to believe in God 
and to serve Him ; ye must remember that it is your parts 
and duties to see that this Infant be taught, so soon as he shall 
be able to learn, what a solemn vow, promise and profession 
he hath here made by you." — The Exhortation to Sponsors 
in the Baptismal Office. 

/^vVER the little ones admitted by Baptism as members 
into her fold, the Church does not henceforth relin- 
quish her watchful care, but endeavours to guard and guide 
their youthful steps by the patient exercise of a thorough 
Christian nurture ; that so they may learn " all things 
which a Christian ought to know and believe to his soul's 
health." The foundation of this nurture is laid in her 
CATECHISM, which is "an Instruction, to be learned by 
every person before he be brought to be confirmed by the 
Bishop." The word means a system of question and an- 
swer (in the Greek literally " an echoing back ") ; and a 
Catechist is an instructor in the principles of religion. 

This Catechism was composed in 1549 for the First 
Book, and its author is not definitely known. It has 
often been styled the grandest summary of dogmatic the- 
ology ever penned. Not that it contains a whole body of 
systematic divinity, such as is set forth in the Lutheran 
and Westminster Assembly Catechisms, or in the Thirty- 



THE CATECHISM. 



263 



nine Articles of Religion. It does not deal with, abstract 
and metaphysical definitions, but concerns itself with a 
presentation of condensed Christian truth, fitted to the 
apprehension of every child of even tender years, yet in 
words whose dignity should never fail to win for it a per- 
manent lodgment for maturer reflection. 

The foundations of all true Christian education are the 
Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Command- 
ments, which stand respectively for the Faith, Devotion 
and Practice that must underlie all Christian experience. 
That this may lead to the systematic use of the Sacrament 
of Heavenly sustenance, it behooves parents to instil its 
truths into their children " so soon as they shall be able to 
learn." Other knowledge, the knowledge of good and 
especially that of evil, will come soon enough, but some 
knowledge of the saving fruit which grows only upon the 
Tree of Life, and which is the antidote for all earthly ills, 
should be imbibed almost with the mother's milk. Only 
thus shall the child grow, not only in stature, but in true 
wisdom, and in favour with God as well as man. It is the 
faithful Sponsor's duty to see that this is done, and that 
his prayers for the spiritual welfare of his charge shall 
never be lacking. 

On these primal truths the Church's Catechism is based, 
and regular ? and frequent instruction therein is ordered in 
the closing rubrics to be given by the Minister openly in 
the Church on Sundays, Holy-days, or some other conven- 
ient occasion. Practice* has largely come to establish this 
usage on the first Sunday of the month, and, in the English 
Church, catechizing is directed to succeed the Second Les- 
son at Evening Prayer. In quaint words, borrowed from 



264 TEE CHURCH IN TEE PRATER BOOK. 



the English Book, parents and guardians are admonished 
to cause their children, servants and apprentices to come to 
Church at the time appointed, and to hear and be ordered 
by the Minister. Authoritative warrant for this public 
instruction is derived no less from natural instincts than 
from the analogy of the Jewish ordinance and the contin- 
ued practice of the Primitive Church. Upon this practice 
the child Jesus Himself set His seal when He " tarried 
behind in the Temple," and was found " sitting in the 
midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them 
questions." 

The Service of the Church is always an attractive and 
easy one for children to learn and follow, and to many this 
will be their chief opportunity to become familiar with it. 
Christian parents will see that all reasonable occasions in 
early years are embraced for this invaluable privilege ; but 
not all children are so blessed. If the catechizing be held 
at the regular Evening Prayer, a goodly congregation is 
secured and a double lesson acquired. Nor is this all ; for 
a silent and potent influence is thereby exerted upon 
many an adult then present, whose own early privileges 
have perhaps not been sufficient to enable him, without 
this aid, to give a satisfactory " reason of the hope which 
is in him." The sight of the Church's children entering 
God's house in a body for worship at stated times, pre- 
ceded it may be by banners and emblems, accompanied 
by the music of their own voices in Christmas, Easter, or 
other carols, and taking their places in the Chancel for 
individual instruction in sacred things, is well calculated 
to be a reflex as well as a direct power for good. 

Public catechizing is (strictly) confined to the words of 



THE CATECHISM. 



265 



the Catechism ; but in practice it must be more frequent 
than monthly, and extended to any proper form of cate- 
chetical instruction. The outcome of modern conditions, 
when the Church is so sadly divorced in many households 
from the home, is the Sunday-school. Nothing can take 
the place of home instruction at the mother's knee or by 
the father's side, and those blessed with such influences 
have little need of Sunday-school instruction. But other 
expedients in parochial and mission work must be em- 
ployed for many a long day among those children less 
happily domiciled, who must not be allowed to be deprived 
of their common birthright by the criminal thoughtless- 
ness of parents, or the harsh environment of circumstance. 

And so a great responsibility lies on the voluntary and 
organized service of Christian laymen and laywomen to 
carry on this noble work under the direction of the Parish 
Priest ; not as an alien or rival to the Church, but as a 
feeder subordinate thereto, having Confirmation as its first 
and chief end in view. Earnest, self-sacrificing, conse- 
crated work is terribly needed here, and by Christian 
men as well as Christian women, to counteract those 
potent and omnipresent influences which lead constantly 
away from holy thoughts and purposes. The past dis- 
abilities which have hedged the Church about in this 
country have left little opportunity thus far for the prepa- 
ration of a trained class of teachers in this great field, and 
it is too often left perforce to hands which bring to it 
no equipment except that of good will. One constant 
credential should always be insisted upon — that the 
teacher should be an earnest communicant ; and present 
indications point to a future which shall enable the 



260 



THE CHURCH IX THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Church to demand other almost equally indispensable 
qualifications of those to whom such sacred work is 
entrusted. 

And the basis of all Sunday-school instruction should 
never be allowed to be other than the truths which flow 
from the Church Catechism. Developed it may and must 
be in its higher grades, leading on to the systematic study 
of the Bible at an early age and of Liturgies and Church 
history thereafter; and if possible enlisting as scholars not 
only the older children but also adults who have long 
taken upon themselves their own Baptismal vows. But 
no superficial devices for temporary success, no fragment- 
ary or fugitive methods, should ever be suffered to ob- 
scure genuine dogmatic teaching on the eternal verities. 
Christian education is far less concerned with the scientific 
theories, the chronological data, or even the historical 
facts of revelation than it is with the simple and homely 
truths which have guided and will guide millions through 
the earthly pathway, console in all worldly trials, and 
make clear and luminous the way of salvation. 

Precisely these are what the Church Catechism sets forth. 
Its parts are five ; the respective expositions of the Bap- 
tismal Covenant, of the Creed, of the Decalogue, of the Lord's 
Prayer, and of the doctrine of the Sacraments. In the First 
Book it was imbedded in the Office of Confirmation, which 
it now precedes ; but without the final section on the Sac- 
raments, which was added in 1604, and is perhaps better 
fitted for the complete apprehension of children when pre- 
paring for Confirmation. There is nothing in any part of 
it, however, which demands or expects immature precocity 
in order to grasp its meaning, and its application is pro- 



THE CATECHISM. 



267 



foundly personal throughout. This is shown at the outset 
where each individual Christian name is asked, after the 
manner of Him who "calleth His sheep by name and 
leadeth them out." The impersonal answer N. or M. is 
a survival of the Latin initials N. for Nomen, and N N. for 
Nomina (i. e., Name or Names) — the latter corrupted into 
M. This has nothing to do with the family patronymic 
or surname, but concerns only the Christian or Baptismal 
name which belongs to the individual child, and which in 
the normal order would be given in Baptism before it began 
to be used. 

In the expansion of the BAPTISMAL COVENANT, the 

child's mind is led by the first answer to the great gifts 
he has already received, and from them to the reciprocal 
duties arising out of them which he is bound to fulfil. He 
is told that he is called (not certainly to salvation, but) to a 
" state of salvation " ; and every time he makes this an- 
swer he virtually (even if unconsciously) renews his Bap- 
tismal vow. In the CREED the child should find the key 
and guide to the Holy Scriptures. In the careful phrase- 
ology of the triple answer which follows he is taught that 
while " all the world " was made by God, it was " mankind " 
alone which was redeemed, and only " the people of God " 
who are now being sanctified ; — with each of which classes 
he learns to identify himself. 

In the First Book the second, third, fourth and fifth 
COMMANDMENTS appear in an abbreviated form, con- 
taining only the command without its expansion and the 
reasons therefor to which we are accustomed. The de- 
velopment into practice which follows the Ten is a most 
simple and yet admirably thorough digest of Christian 



268 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



duty ; its purpose being tersely expressed in its homely 
closing words, " to learn and labour truly to get mine own 
living, and to do my duty in that state of life unto which 
it shall please God to call me." The LORD'S PRAYER 
in its shorter form is most fully explained as the child's 
first means of grace. In the explanation of the Two SAC- 
RAMENTS they are shown to be ordained by Christ him- 
self, given to us from without as means and pledges of 
grace, and necessary generally (or universally), i. e., to all 
men. It is obvious that this does not exclude the truth 
that there are other Sacraments or sacramental Rites which 
the Church has always recognized as such, like Confirma- 
tion, Matrimony and Orders, which are not " Sacraments 
of the Gospel," i. e., not ordained by Christ himself. Some 
of these are recognized as necessary for certain classes or in- 
dividuals only, and they are each treated, in the respective 
Occasional Offices in which they are embodied, entirely 
on their own merits. 

By this mode of youthful instruction it is evident that 
the baptized child can hardly fail to grasp one vital and 
imperishable general lesson ; that, as an actual " inheritor 
of the kingdom of Heaven " even here, he is entitled as 
his prescriptive right to a personal share in all the Church 
privileges for which he is prepared, and by which he is 
watchfully and unceasingly surrounded through his earth- 
ly career ; privileges so often wilfully neglected through 
life by the unbaptized, but so inestimable in value that 
they are often importunately claimed even by them in the 
failing times of age and poverty and " in the hour of 
death." 



XXVI. 



CONFIRMATION. 

" The Apostles ***** sen f un ( i nem Peter and 
John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them that 
they might receive the Holy Ghost : {for as yet He was fallen 
upon none of them : only they were baptized in the name of 
the Lord J esus). Then laid they their hands on them, and 
they received the Holy Ghost.'''' — Acts of the Apostles viii. 
14-17. 

CONFIRMATION, or the LAYING-ON OF HANDS 
by the Bishop, is not strictly a Sacrament, but 
rather a sacramental Rite, conveying a peculiar grace, and 
inseparable from Baptism, to which it is the complement 
and completion. Baptism is the birth into the Christian 
life ; Confirmation is the enduing with complete armour 
of proof wherewith to fight the Christian fight and to run 
the Christian race, in the course of which there may and 
must be many a " conversion," or turning from evil. It 
is not "joining the Church " — that was done in Baptism ; 
but it is an Apostolic ordinance, and if Christ's own words 
may not be quoted in its support, it has the authority of 
frequent reference as an existing Rite in the Church in the 
Book of the Acts. Certainly as explicit sanction is given 
for it there as for Holy Orders or for Baptism itself. It is 
also distinctly named in Hebrews vi. 2, as one of the six 
" principles of the doctrine of Christ," and as of similar 



270 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



warrant with Baptism, Repentance, Faith, the Resurrec- 
tion and the Judgment. 

It has been the practice of the Church to administer it 
by the highest Order of her Ministry from the very first, 
and universally in Western Christendom until very recent 
times. In the Greek Church Presbyters confirm, but using 
oil (or Chrism) blessed by the Bishop. It was at first re- 
ceived in connection with Adult Baptism, following it im- 
mediately and virtually a part of the same Office, which 
was in those days generally conducted under the Bishop's 
personal direction, though Baptism itself was not gener- 
ally administered by the Apostles. The ancient formulas 
accompanied it with the u Chrism," or unction of oil upon 
the forehead, as is still the custom in the Roman Church. 
It has hence come to be called an Unction and a Seal, as 
well as an Imposition of Hands. As Infant Baptism be- 
came the rule and that of Adults the exception after the 
very earliest days, with the growth of Episcopal jurisdic- 
tion Confirmation became gradually dissociated in point 
of time from Baptism, which latter was left to the Priest- 
hood. By degrees some years elapsed between the adminis- 
tration of the two Rites, and Confirmation came to assume 
a greater independent importance. 

It is now ordinarily given only at stated seasons when the 
Diocesan Bishop makes his annual or semi-annual Visita- 
tions, which are wont to occur at least during the portion 
of the Christian Year which dwells upon the events of Our 
Lord's Life. In England, owing to the great density of the 
Dioceses, it formerly occurred but once in three years, and 
it is obligatory with us with at least this frequency. It is the 
gift of the Holy Spirit to and the consequent strengthen- 



CONFIRMATION. 



271 



ing of or confirming (making firm) the soul of the recipient. 
It was typified by the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon 
Our Saviour at His Baptism. He came not only to redeem 
but to send His Spirit, and this first at Pentecost through 
the Apostles. St. Peter's sermon on that day implies the 
following of Baptism by Confirmation. This was indeed 
sometimes accompanied by miraculous powers in the early 
Church, and is in fact a lesser ordination, conferring the 
" priesthood of the laity." 

When the Bishop gives notice of an approaching Visita- 
tion for this purpose, such persons as are by the Minister 
deemed fit for as well as desirous of the Rite are by him 
formed into a Class for instruction in the significance 
thereof, as it is not to be received with undue haste or 
without especial preparation. The final rubric at the end 
of the Catechism directs that a list of the names of the can- 
didates be presented by the Parish Priest over his signa- 
ture to the Bishop. It is the " gathered harvest of the 
parochial year" to fall membership and communion. 
Lectures or addresses are given upon the ra^fication of 
the Baptismal vow about to be made, and upon the duties 
of the Christian profession ; which should be accompanied 
by Prayer and Fasting on the part of the candidates. They 
have been washed in the waters of Baptism ; they are now 
to be nourished in Confirmation. Their sins were then 
forgiven ; they are now to receive an access of the Holy 
Spirit from Apostolic hands. They were then made chil- 
dren of God ; they are now to receive admission to inti- 
mate companionship with a Celestial Guide. 

Though they are responsible for their own sins com- 
mitted since Baptism, still no great learning or maturity 



272 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



is required for full admission, if an earnest desire to fol- 
low all God's commands be evinced. No definite age 
is named so it be " competent" (in the language of the 
rubric). An absolute prescription in this respect would be 
unwise if not altogether impossible, as all depends on the 
varying circumstances of temperament, training and envi- 
ronment. Our Lord himself was in His Father's House 
and " about His Father's business " at the age of twelve, 
which was the period at which Jewish boys were admitted 
to the full privileges of the Law, and at which they are 
still received in a Jewish rite called also Confirmation. 
There is far less danger from the admission of extreme 
youth than from a faithless and even superstitious delay, 
after the first heavenly impulse has been imparted. Such 
delay sometimes occurs at the instance of parents who are 
unconsciously in the attitude of those who were "seeking 
a sign " of an invisible growth, and were divinely rebuked; 
a growth which, if natural and healthy, is like that of the 
seed, " first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn 
in the ear." The shadow and chill of such a postpone- 
ment sometimes results, through the present withdrawal of 
a divine and omniscient aid, in a carelessness and indiffer- 
ence to religious things which years may not repair. 

The time of day for this Service is not designated, but, 
unless used as a separate Office by itself, has become cus- 
tomary after the Sermon (generally by the Bishop) at either 
Morning or Evening Pra}^er. Whenever it is possible the 
Morning Service is preferable, that the newly-confirmed 
may receive the Holy Eucharist which should follow. 

The Bishop is seated in his Episcopal Chair on the 
North side of the Altar, and the candidates approach the 



CONFIRMATION. 



273 



Chancel-rail during the singing of a Hymn. They are 
then arranged in an orderly and decorous manner by the 
Priest, and the congregation remain standing until the 
Lord's Prayer as at a Baptism, and for the same reason. 
The women and girls remove their head coverings, and are 
often dressed uniformly in white with a veil ; an ancient 
custom which, if simply carried out, is highly appropriate. 

The Confirmation Office was re-arranged from earlier 
usages in 1662. The PREFACE was, in the First Book, 
embraced in a rubric merely, with further additions. Its 
reading is now permissive and generally by the Priest ; 
and is a partial repetition of the concluding matter in the 
Baptismal Offices. Its entire lack of reference to the ex- 
perience of those not baptized in childhood indicates 
clearly the former infrequency of Adult Baptism. This 
address brings out strongly the other aspect of Confirma- 
tion ; that it is not only a heavenly gift of strengthening 
grace, but also the candidate's own solemn confirmation 
and ratification of his early vow. It is followed by the 
formal Presentation of the candidates to the Bishop by the 
officiating Priest, and this in turn by the reading by the 
Bishop or Priest of warrant from Holy Scripture for this 
usage, as recorded by St. Luke in the Book of the Acts. 
A Deacon then baptized but might not confirm ; the 
Apostles Peter and John being expressly sent to Samaria 
for that purpose. St. Paul, moreover, confirmed the 
Ephesian converts (as we are told in the nineteenth chap- 
ter of the same Book), and he repeatedly refers to this in 
his Epistle to them. Neither of the two portions of the 
Service just mentioned are found in the English Book. 

The Bishop next proceeds to make a solemn demand 

(18) 



274 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



for the personal RATIFICATION of each Baptismal Vow, 
whether earlier made as an infant or as an adult. The 
answer made is the last step in the pathway of Christian 
childhood ; the final stone laid in the foundation of the 
Christian life. In the Roman Church (as was also ordered 
in the First Book), the ancient custom is preserved that 
each candidate be brought to the Bishop by a Sponsor as a 
witness to the act. The six Versicles which follow as the 
Bishop rises were in ancient use in many Offices, as in that 
for Holy Matrimony, the Visitation of the Sick, etc.; and 
are taken from the Psalms, expressing confidence, thanks- 
giving and prayer. The INVOCATION PRAYER is of 
immemorial antiquity, and dwells on the sevenfold gifts 
of the Holy Spirit, prophetic reference to which by Isaiah 
as lighting upon the " Rod of Jesse " was fulfilled in Our 
Lord's Baptism, and through Him to His faithful believ- 
ers, as from the Vine to its branches. The first two gifts 
implored are intellectual, the second pair are moral, and 
the third pair devotional ; making up, with that for rev- 
erence or " holy fear," the mystic number seven. 

The IMPOSITION OF HANDS, ortouch upon thehead 
of each as he kneels, is the essence of the Rite, and is ac- 
companied by a form of words after the manner of a Ben- 
ediction. The words are very beautiful, but have not 
always been the same. They varied somewhat in the First 
Book, and the manual contact was there accompanied by 
the Signing of the Cross upon the forehead, followed, as 
here, by the Dominus Vobiscum. The practice then and 
earlier was, as in Baptism, to confirm by name, and this 
name might be changed by the Bishop if he deemed it an 
unfitting one. With us the Bishop may rise from his 



CONFIRMATION. 



275 



Chair and pass in order before a rail-full at a time, as at 
the Holy Communion, placing both hands upon each 
head. Or he may remain seated near the Rail and the can- 
didates may kneel before him two by two while he places 
his hands on the head of each, which would seem a more 
dignified method. The English mode where the Bishop 
passes by an entire rail-full, touching each head, but 
repeating the formula of words only once for them all, is 
to be deprecated except on the ground of necessity, as 
depriving the reception of its proper individuality. 

In the AFTER-SERVICE the Lord's Prayer retains its 
customary honoured position, at which all kneel. The 
first of the two Collects was composed in 1549, and claims 
Confirmation as an Apostolic and symbolic seal of God's 
favour. The second was not in the First Book, and is a 
repetition of the Collect for Sanctification in the Com- 
munion Office. The Blessing (addressed to those newly 
confirmed), is the latter part of the Blessing in the Com- 
munion Office, and was formerly preceded by the fifth 
and sixth verses of the 128th Psalm. It is common for 
the Bishop to personally greet and address the recipients 
of the Rite with a word of God-speed at this point, before 
they depart from the Chancel to enter upon the full Chris- 
tian life. After so doing, the Service, if in the evening, 
concludes with a Hymn and Collects. 

Confirmation must never be considered as other than 
immediate admission to Holy Communion. To correct a 
too common laxity upon this point, arising from training 
or environment, the first of the closing rubrics enjoins that 
" the Minister shall not omit earnestly to move the persons 
confirmed to come without delay to the Lord's Supper," 



'276 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



and it is well if opportunity be given at once. There 
should of course be no more difference in fact than there is 
in theory and principle between the list of those confirmed 
and the list of the actual communicants as borne upon the 
Parish Register. The second rubric, as printed in the First 
Book, did not contain its last clause, " or be ready and 
desirous to be confirmed." As now printed it is derived 
from a canon of the thirteenth century allowing the Holy 
Communion to such as are reasonably hindered from Con- 
firmation, when there is the right spiritual preparation ; 
as was the case with all America, in the absence of a Bish- 
op's personal visitation, until Bishop Seabury's consecra- 
tion in 1784. 

It should be remembered that all Church legislation 
and all rubrical directions are made for the Church alone 
and for the use of her own members and adherents. This 
rubric is no exception and is of very ancient date, having 
indeed been made when the Church was One, and undi- 
vided by the rival schisms of to-day. It states plainly the 
reasonable and proper qualifications which she deems nec- 
essary for the admission of her own children to the full 
privileges of Communion, and it makes no declaration and 
passes no judgment whatever upon the present status of 
those Christians of other bodies who may feel desirous of 
a welcome at her Altars. When such regularly present 
themselves after a proper understanding of the Church's 
position, it is certainly a fair assumption that they are at 
least " ready and desirous to be confirmed," and they are 
welcomed accordingly. 

The responsibility of coming, as with all other Chris- 
tians, is on themselves alone, and they would, of course, be 



CONFIRMATION. 



277 



deemed to have made right spiritual preparation, includ- 
ing a desire to comply with a plainly Apostolic ordinance. 
And this implied desire should, of course, be carried into 
effect at the earliest opportunity, as no thoughtful person 
would be willing to receive continuously the privileges of 
an order, religious or otherwise, whose obligations he was 
not willing to assume. The invitation invariably given in 
the Communion Office itself, " Ye who do truly and ear- 
nestly repent," etc., cannot be justly criticised in its terms 
by any " who love Our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." 

Written approbation of Confirmation is on record by 
many thinkers outside of the Church ; among them by 
Rev. Dr. Adam Clark, a most distinguished divine of the 
Methodist body, who was confirmed after he became a 
Methodist preacher ; by the Baptist Association in 1742 ; 
by a Committee of the Presbyterian General Assembly, 
which speaks of it as the exercise of the authority of a 
Mother by the Church ; and last, but not least, by John 
Calvin himself, who distinctly expressed the wish that it 
might be restored to its primitive use in the Church. 



XXVII. 



THE SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 

" Which holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with 
His presence and first miracle that He wrought in Cana of 
Galilee, and is commended of St. Paul to be honourable among 
all men : and therefore is not by any to be entered into unad- 
visedly or lightly ; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, 
and in the fear of God." — The Exhortation in the Marriage 
Service. 

u Those whom God hath joined together let no man put 
asunder." — St. Matthew xix. 6. 



1Q ECAUSE marriage was instituted by God himself in the 
state of man's innocency and publicly sanctioned by 
Our Lord at the marriage in Cana, it is recognized by the 
Church as a Divine institution no less than as a social com- 
pact, by the Office for the SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRI- 
MONY. The express words of Christ and His Apostles 
give to Holy Matrimony the character of a religious mys- 
tery, and undoubtedly it is in the wide sense a Sacrament. 
It is a glowing type of the mystical union of Christ with 
His Bride the Church, and the object of this Service is to 
bind man and wife together "in the Lord." It is a civil 
contract as well, and as such is regulated by the law of the 
State as essential to the well-being of society. In this 
ordinance the functions of Church and State meet, and 
the officiating Minister is bound by the first rubric of the 

278 



THE SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 279 



Office to obey every mandate of the civil law, so far as it 
regards the legal compact here entered into. 

The Office was originally and very anciently in two 
parts ; the Espousal (said at a previous time) and the Mar- 
riage. Taken largely from the Sarum Manual, it preserves 
very much of its original form and substance, as shown in 
the hearty sound of the Anglo-Saxon words which have 
not suffered by translation. The object of the publication 
of Banns, which is now in most localities obsolete, though 
proclaimed in the English Church on three consecutive 
Sundays, is to secure the important objects of safeguard 
against secrecy and the consequent discovery of impedi- 
ments. Published engagements in social life afford pro- 
tection of this character among classes where it is least 
needed. The legal obstacles to a marriage are:. (1) A 
previous marriage where the other party is still living, 
except in case of a divorce for proper cause. (2) A too 
near relationship, as set forth in a Table of Degrees 
founded upon the Levitical law ; which may be a limita- 
tion through Consanguinity (in blood) or through Affinity 
(by marriage). (3) Absence of the consent of parent or 
guardian where either party is under legal age. (4) Ab- 
sence of the consent of either of the parties. (5) Unsound- 
ness of mind. 

The presence of friends and neighbours is greatly encour- 
aged, not only for the expression of sympathy and sanc- 
tion, but also for publicity ; and, as with all other public 
holy Offices, the Church is the proper place for this Service. 
In England certain of the witnesses are required to testify 
their assent by signing the record upon the Parish Regis- 
ter. The "day and time appointed," as recited in the 



280 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



rubric, referred originally to the Seasons and hours during 
which it was canonical to solemnize Matrimony. The 
Seasons during which it was anciently forbidden were the 
chief Festal Seasons and Fasts of the Christian Year, and 
a sense of fitness would still discourage the choice of the 
latter times for this purpose, except in emergencies. The 
Church of England still restricts the canonical hours to 
those between eight in the morning and three in the after- 
noon, for the purpose of securing sobriety and publicity. 

The parties are to " come into the body of the Church." 
This was originally the Porch, but more properly the 
Nave, at the foot of the Chancel steps. Their entrance 
may be preceded by a Processional by the Choir, and 
their retirement accompanied by a Recessional. Social 
features and adornments, ushers, groomsmen, bridesmaids 
and the like, are welcomed, but their employment should 
not transgress a reverent and consistent use of the Office. 
The congregation are to rise and remain standing through- 
out as witnesses. The ancient Latin rubric specifically 
says, " the man on the right of the woman, the woman on 
the left of the man." Yet the Jewish usage was the reverse, 
as at the marriage of Solomon, when " upon thy right hand 
did stand the Queen," etc. 

As Deacons are not there licensed to marry, this Office 
in the English Book is assigned to the Priest, and its open- 
ing EXHORTATION is more full and explicit than ours ; 
which, after citing the Divine sanctions of marriage, names 
St. Paul's warranty for it as "honourable among all men," 
and, applying to it the term " holy estate," tacitly reproves 
an excessive admiration of celibacy. That this " holy es- 
tate " is so often violated through motives of pride, cupid- 



THE SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 281 



ity or ambition, is certainly not the fault of the Church. 
The Warning at its close, addressed first to the company 
and then to the consciences of the parties, is most solemn 
and impressive. Its last words " not lawful" refer to the 
law of God and not of man. The State may indeed per- 
mit many things which are distinctly forbidden by God 
and His Church, but this is not a privilege for Christians 
and Churchmen to seize upon. The Minister incurs no 
penalty at the hands of the State for a refusal to marry 
any persons, as no law of this land obliges him to do so. 
If sufficient impediment be alleged, or be by him sus- 
pected, he may at this point demand to be reassured and 
indemnified before proceeding farther. 

Mutual consent has always been required of the parties 
to a marriage, and the ESPOUSAL which now follows is 
of the essence of a solemn Vow. In its present form, both 
here and in the English Book, it is taken from the Salis- 
bury Ordinal, now in the British Museum. The Minister 
addresses in order the man and the woman by their 
Christian names. The man vows love, comfort, honour, 
protection and fidelity during life ; the woman adds to 
this obedience, as expressly enjoined in Holy Scripture by 
Christ, the Head of the Church. But, as Jeremy Taylor 
quaintly and beautifully says, " man's authority is love, 
and woman's love is obedience." 

The BETROTHAL begins with the bestowal of the hand 
of the bride upon the bridegroom by her father, or, in his 
default, by some proper friend. The woman is recognized 
as naturally dependent, and passes here from one state of 
dependency to another — from her father through the 
Church to her husband. The father surrenders her to the 



282 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Church which represents God who gave her, and from the 
Church to whom God gives authority her husband receives 
her. Such follies as so often masquerade under the guise 
of the real rights of woman are often contrary to the true 
principles of the marriage bond, and too frequently asso- 
ciated with the teachings of infidelity. 

The joining of the right hands has been from time im- 
memorial the token of a pledge, and is here an essential 
part of the ceremony ; they being unclasped and rejoined 
at each individual repetition, which is made clause by 
clause after the Minister, of the touching and venerable 
words which express yet more comprehensively the Mar- 
riage Vow. The hands should be bare, though an ancient 
rubric quaintly prescribes that a widow should be gloved 
but a maiden ungloved. The fact that troth (or " truth ") 
is " plighted " by the man and " given " by the woman is 
properly to indicate the knightly initiative of the former. 

Then follows the actual MARRIAGE, to which all before 
has been preparatory. Loosing hands, the parties go forward 
to the Sanctuary- rail, within which the Minister enters. 
During their progress is the proper place for the Wedding 
Hymn, if such there be ; and choral music is nowhere more 
appropriate. A Wedding Ring, or something equivalent 
thereto, has been used from Patriarchal days, and was 
adopted by the Primitive Church from Jews and heathens 
alike. With it gold and silver were anciently given as 
symbols of dowry from the husband. The present English 
Book directs the gift of the Ring, " laying the same upon 
the (Prayer) Book, with the accustomed duty to the Priest 
and Clerk," and the First Book adds "and other tokens of 
spousage,as gold and silver." In primitive times the ring 



THE SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 283 



(or signet) was a symbol of authority given to another, and 
it is the immemorial emblem of the constancy, integrity 
and eternity of Union. 

The Ring is a circle and itself makes a circle, as it is 
given by the man to the woman, by her to the Priest, and 
by him to the man, who places it upon the fourth finger 
of the woman's left hand. This fourth finger has always 
been the wedding finger; an old rubric says, "because 
thence is a vein leading directly to the heart." To the 
words now recited after the Priest by the man is added in 
the English Book after the first clause, " with my body I 
thee worship" (or honour), he thus bestowing himself before 
his goods. The giving of the Ring seals the marriage con- 
tract, and what follows is the Church's Avowal and Benedic- 
tion. The Ring was anciently and quaintly placed succes-. 
sively, at the name of each Person in the Trinity, on the 
thumb and next two fingers, with the " Amen " at the 
fourth. 

Leaving it there for life, the wedded couple (though not 
so directed by rubric), kneel as ordered in the English Book 
at this point, at the saying of the Lord's Prayer, which, 
however, comes later in that Book. The Collect which fol- 
lows it in the place of an ancient form called the " Ben- 
ediction of the Ring," makes a touching reference to faith- 
ful Isaac and Rebecca, as the one recorded instance of 
single marriage in the Patriarchal age. In the First Book, 
following their names, occur the words, " after bracelets and 
jewels of gold given of the one to the other for tokens of 
their Matrimony." As the Priest joins their hands, he 
sometimes twines about them his Stole, in symbol of a 
true lover's knot with the Church's sanction. 



284 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



A solemn Protestation by the Priest follows, reciting Our 
LorcUs own Words concerning the indissoluble character of 
the marriage bond, and then a Declaration to the company of 
the now completed marriage, and of its essential features, 
which are public assent, a mutual and symbolized pledge 
of troth, and the ratification by the Church in the name 
of the Trinity ; all of which is set forth with the highest 
dignity and authority. Doubtless N. is the correct sym- 
bol for " Name " wherever it appears in the Service, and it 
is so employed in the English Book. The cause for the 
change here to M. in the case of the man is obscure ; 
possibly the letters have stood respectively for Maritus 
and Nympha. 

The BLESSING upon the kneeling parties, which is pe- 
culiar to this Office and slightly varied in wording from the 
First Book, invokes upon them God's favour in this life, 
and looks beyond it to the Life everlasting. It implies the 
belief that the tie hallowed here is the nearest approach 
to Eden, and that it will there find a higher realization. 
Here the Service proper ends, and the parties retire, preced- 
ing the congregation. The English Book follows it with a 
Service of mingled prayer and blessing, having an Introit, 
and either a Sermon or a Lesson compiled from the New 
Testament, summing up the duties of the married state. 
A rubrical injunction there follows that the Holy Com- 
munion should be received at the time of the Marriage or 
at the first opportunity after. This practice was once well 
nigh universal among communicants, and is indeed most 
salutary and appropriate immediately after the ceremony, 
Tinder proper restrictions as to time and circumstances. 



THE SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. 285 



There remains a word to be said upon the subject of 
the possible termination of the -marriage relation, other- 
wise than by death. Divorce is in law of two kinds, i. e., 
" a mensa et thoro " (" from bed and board "), a separation 
which may or may not be permanent ; and that " a vinculo 
matrimonii" the complete and irrevocable dissolution of 
the bond itself. The former is unhappily often advisable 
and many times necessary, as the result of the feverish 
and unhealthy conditions of modern life, which so often 
especially surround the approach to the marriage relation 
and permit alliances which are in their very nature im- 
proper and without promise. 

The latter, though allowed by the secular law in many 
parts of America for almost any cause, so that the facility 
of obtaining it has become an outrageous travesty on 
decency itself, is absolutely forbidden by the law of God, 
except for the single cause of adultery, and that prohibition 
is by Christ Himself. The evils of divorce are terrible, 
and are entailing a frightful curse upon posterity as well 
as on the present age. Divorce itself would inevitably be 
checked, and one fruitful cause of it be removed, by statutes 
forbidding a subsequent marriage to another, the desire 
for which undermines many an ill-considered contract and 
many an undisciplined will. The standard of Holy Scrip- 
ture has always been that of the Church in this regard, 
and a very small percentage of her members have been 
chargeable with this offence against morality — a distinction 
which she shares with the Church of Rome. Her canon 
upon this subject is as follows : " No Minister, know- 
ingly after due inquiry, shall solemnize the marriage of 
any person who has a divorced husband or wife still 



286 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



living, if such husband or wife has been put away for any 
cause arising after marriage ; but this canon shall not be 
held to apply to the innocent party in a divorce for the 
cause of adultery, or to parties once divorced seeking to be 
united again." 



XXVIII. 



THE VISITATION AND COMMUNION OF THE SICK, 
AND THE CHURCHING OFFICE. 

" That if it shall be Thy pleasure to prolong his days here 
on earth, he may live to Thee, and be an instrument of Thy 
glory, by serving Thee faithfully, and doing good in his gen- 
eration; or else receive him into those heavenly habitations, 
where the souls of those who sleep in the Lord J esus enjoy 
perpetual rest and felicity." — Prayer for a Sick Child. 

FHE two Offices which we are next to treat are purely 



private in their character and may almost be con- 
sidered as one. The first, that for the VISIT ATS ON OF 

THE SICK, naturally follows the one which inaugurates 
a new family life. The apparent formality of this Office 
arises from the fact that, as here set forth, it is not de- 
signed for use at an ordinary Pastoral call, but rather for 
a single Visitation of a more serious and formal character 
which, though now rarely used, should accompany at least 
the graver cases of illness. As it stands it is strictly an 
Office for professed Church -people, and out of place to be 
used for those not in her communion. It implies that 
Pastoral visits should have features which distinguish 
them from friendly calls of the ordinary sort ; and it is a 
storehouse from which to draw for the more usual needs of 
the sick-room, and at the same time a standing testimony 
to certain vital principles often so sadly neglected. 

Its contents are substantially those of the English Book, 




287 



288 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK 



most of the Prayers and rubrics being in the ancient Ser- 
vice Books of the Church of England, and some of the 
Prayers being traceable to the Primitive Church. There 
are many responses in this Service, and some friends 
should be present to join in these portions. It is rather 
long, but in the First Book was still longer, having at its 
close a Service of anointing with oil, or Extreme Unction, after 
the manner of the Primitive Church, as mentioned in St. 
James' Epistle. But the reference in that Epistle is prob- 
ably to a cure, perhaps miraculous, while the Roman use, 
which still prevails, unwarrantably exalts it into a Sacra- 
ment. It was also once accompanied by a procession of 
the Priest and Choir to the sick person's house, chanting 
the Seven Penitential Psalms. 

The opening rubric is a plain intimation that the Min- 
ister is not to be allowed to learn by accident of the seri- 
ous or continued illness of his parishioners. Nor should 
a dangerous issue be threatened before he be sent for. The 
Pastor's visits should be frequent, natural and welcome, 
both in health and sickness, and a sick-bed is not the best 
place to make the first preparation for impending death. 
Holy living is the best preparative for holy dying, yet 
every sickness is a renewed summons to seriousness of 
purpose, and even death-bed repentance is not impossible. 
St. Augustine pithily remarks, " One was thus saved by 
Christ that none might despair, and only one that none 
should presume." 

The first words are a Salutation of Peace at enteriDg, fol- 
lowed by a recital in the sick-room of the first Deprecation 
of the Litany, which was in the First Book an Antiphon 
to the 143d Psalm ; and then the triple Kyrie and the Lord's 



VISITATION OF SICK, CHURCHING OFFICE, 289 



Prayer and special Versicles, similar to those in the English 
Marriage Service. The two Collects which follow contain 
expressions familiar to us in the Occasional Prayers for a 
Sick Person and for those in Affliction. The second was 
very quaint in its form in the First Book, referring to 
" Peter's wife's mother and the Captain's servant," and to 
" Thobie and Sara" in the Book of Tobit. 

A double Exhortation succeeds, the latter part of which, 
a Homily on Hebrews xii. 6-10, is omitted when the pa- 
tient is very sick. This leads naturally to the recital of 
the Creed, after the manner of the Baptismal profession, 
made in the interrogative form by the Minister, and assented 
to briefly but firmly by the sick person. It is worthy of 
note that this translation of the Creed is older than the 
ordinary form and differs from it by the addition of the 
words "only-begotten," "at the end of the world," and 
" after death," and the substitution of " flesh " for " body"; 
words which strengthen the affirmation of Catholic dogma 
in these respects. 

After examination as to the Faith comes one (rubric- 
ally indicated merely), as to the exercise of Repentance 
and Charity, on the well-worn lines of the Church Cate- 
chism. Then comes a most practical Admonition " as he 
shall see cause," for a timely settlement of the sick man's 
temporal estate, as far as may be, and for the making of 
his last Will and Testament ; both of which are here also 
enjoined to be kept often by Ministers before the minds 
of their congregations while yet in health. To this is 
added that sick persons who have ability must be earnestly 
moved to be liberal to the poor, a duty so generally neg- 
lected in unclouded davs. 

(19) 



290 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



These perfectly self-evident duties suggest to us the 
thought of the hundreds of ways in which the works of 
consistent Christians may follow them if their " gifts to the 
poor " and other benefactions are " lent to the Lord " in 
due season. And that there may be no failure in this re- 
gard and no opportunity left for the misconceptions, pro- 
longed disputes and wasteful litigation which are so com- 
monly consequent on the death of the rich and which so 
often violate their wishes, how infinitely wiser would it 
be, as well as productive of how much satisfaction to the 
giver, were bequests converted into gifts during his own life- 
time ? Such thoughts gain trebly in force in these days 
of repeated accumulation of fortunes so vast that the State 
may well take cognizance of public rights in inheritances 
thus entailed, and rule that possessors of great wealth are 
rightly to be considered only as its trustees for the general 
welfare. 

In the English Book the sick person is next to " be 
moved to make special Confession of his sins, if he feel his 
conscience troubled with any weighty matter," and is 
then absolved in the most authoritative form used by that 
Church. We proceed to the recital of a wonderful Collect 
fourteen centuries old, itself originally an Absolution and 
much more ancient than the one just named. The De Pro- 
fundis Psalm, even better than the 71st which stands here 
in the English Book, expresses spiritual trust and confi- 
dence in the hour of physical weakness. The Antiphon (or 
response) to this Psalm is in the most exquisite vein of 
this very ancient usage, applying the foregoing supplica- 
tion through the merits of Christ's precious Blood. The 
Blessing, which until 1662 concluded the Service, dates 



VISITATION OF SICK, CHURCHING OFFICE. 291 



from 590 A. D., and is now followed with particular ten- 
derness by the Commendation of the Aaronic Blessing. 

Before this, however, may be inserted any of the seven 
Prayers which follow, of which the English Book has but 
four ; and which blend with the entire Office in manifest- 
ing, as Newman wisely says, "holy fear's stern glow" that 
deals with spiritual facts as ultra-Protestantism does with 
mere feelings. Two of these Prayers, the Commendatory 
Prayer and "0 God, whose days are without end" are espe^ 
cially familiar and dear to Churchmen. The latter is the 
composition of Bishop Jeremy Taylor, " the modern St. 
Chrysostom." It would be well if the former were mem- 
orized by all ; for any may at some unexpected crisis be 
called upon to say it on behalf of another. 



The prefatory rubric to the COMMUNION OF THE 

SICK recites the duty of its frequent reception in public, 
that Christian people " may, in case of sudden visitation, 
have the less cause to be disquieted for lack of the same." 
When privately administered through necessity, " timely 
notice " is to be given of desire, and " two at the least " are 
required to receive with the sick person, except that in 
time of contagious sickness, when danger prevents others, 
the Minister alone may communicate with him at his 
special request. When the Holy Communion is adminis- 
tered in connection with a formal Visitation, the preceding 
Office is cut short at the Psalm and continues with this 
Office, which begins with the special Collect, Epistle and 
Gospel. 

When used, however, with age and bed-ridden or dis- 



292 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK 



abled persons, as is provided in the final rubric, those for 
the Day are substituted. It is highly desirable that 
the unnatural habit of mind which so often looks upon a 
private Communion as little less than a passport to the 
next world, should give place to " the comfort of a reason- 
able, religious and holy hope " which its reception so 
encourages. The Collect here prescribed was composed 

- in 1549, and the Epistle (but two verses), is the opening 
clause of the passage from the Epistle . to the Hebrews 
which is the basis of the second part of the Exhortation 
in the preceding Office. The Gospel, also very brief, is 
Christ's declaration of His ow,n gift of eternal life. Re- 
suming at the Invitation in the Communion Office, it 

• proceeds thence throughout, except that, as directed in 
the third of the closing rubrics, a form still further short- 
ened may be used in cases of emergency, beginning with 
the Confession. 

Sufficient mention has already been made, at the end 
of the last chapter on the Communion Office, of the prim- 
itive practice of Reservation of the Sacred Elements in 
the interests of charity and reason. This was distinctly 
ordered to be done in the First Book, in the rubric to this 
private Office, " if the same day there shall be a Celebra- 
tion in the Church or, if the Holy Sacrament is to be 
ministered the same day to more than one sick person, 
then to " celebrate " in but one case and " reserve " for the 
rest. 

In any event, " all things necessary being prepared " 
signifies that a reverent and decorous solemnity in sur- 
roundings is to be secured, as far as possible. The Priest 
is vested in his robes as in the Church, and " fair, white 



VISITATION OF SICK, CHURCHING OFFICE. 293 



linen " supersedes and hides for the time all unhallowed, 
worldly and common uses, even as a true devotion may 
transfigure even the meanest environment. In every Par- 
ish suitably furnished, a private Communion service of the 
sacred Vessels is provided, which is both precious and 
portable. As always, the Priest is the first to receive, and 
from obvious motives of propriety and health the sick 
person is the last to commune. The last rubric remaining 
to be considered sets forth with great emphasis the truth 
that, as God is not bound by His own limitations to us, so 
the failure through "any just impediment " to receive 
this Sacrament outwardly shall not invalidate its benefits 
to the sick, who bring to it the requisite spiritual desire 
and preparation expressed in Holy Scripture. None can 
study these Offices prayerfully without being convinced 
of the constant need and opportunity for spiritual service 
by the laity among those who suffer from the countless 
bodily " ills that flesh is heir to," and also of the great 
apparent lack of recognition of this Christian duty. 

The use of some Service after Childbirth is most ancient, 
and was probably derived from that of the Elder Jewish 
Dispensation, which blended the ideas of Purification and 
Thanksgiving. The peculiar sanctions for the association 
of a public religious Service with this event are, that both 
the bestowal and the withholding of the priceless gift 
of children is from God alone ; and that the pain and sor- 
row consequent thereon are legacies to women of the first 
transgression by which sin came into the world. 

Our Office for the CHURCHING OF WOMEN (called in 
the First Book "Purification"), is taken from the Sarum 



294 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Manual, where it was said at the Choir door, the Priest at 
its close leading the woman by the hand into the Church. 
The phrase of the present rubric, " decently apparelled," 
is a reference to the ancient practice of wearing a veil. In 
the opening Address to the kneeling woman the First Book 
added (after the word "deliverance") "and your child 
Baptism," implying that the child had already been bap- 
tized ; and the rubric then directed that she should now 
" offer her Crisome " (her babe's white Baptismal robe). 

A part of the joyous 116th Psalm (the 127th in the 
English Book) is then said by them together as the woman 
still kneels, followed by the Lord's Prayer (unless in con- 
nection with the Daily Service) and the Versicles, as in the 
Visitation of the Sick. The Office closes with the Collect, 
which is the same as that among the Occasional Thanks- 
givings. No time is assigned for this Service, which is 
indeed now but little used, there being rubrical permission 
to substitute for it the Collect just named, as a part of the 
Morning or Evening Prayer, the woman being present. 
This is sometimes said at the time of the child's Baptism, 
and she is directed to make a Thank-offering for "the 
relief of distressed women in child-bed." It is further- 
more directed, as being peculiarly "convenient" (i. e., 
suitable), that, if there be opportunity, she receive the 
Holy Communion as her highest Sacrifice of praise and 
thanksgiving. 



XXIX. 



PRAYERS AT SEA, THE VISITATION OF PRISONERS, 
AND FAMILY PRAYER. 

M They that go down to the sea in ships, and occupy their 
business in great waters; these men see the works of the Lord, 
and His wonders in the deep." — Psalm cvii. 23, 24. 

" Go not far from those, Lord, whom Thou hast laid in 
a place of darkness, and in the deep." — Prayer in the Visita- 
tion Office. 

"In particular, we implore Thy grace and protection for 
the ensuing day." — Morning Prayer in Families. 

■pHE two Offices which lie between the Churching 



Office and that for Thanksgiving Day are printed 
in smaller type than the others, on account of the rarity of 
their use in individual experience. Neither of them is in 
the First Book, and the FORMS OF PRAYER TO BE 
USED AT SEA were not added to the present English 
Book (where they follow the Psalter and precede the Ordi- 
nal) until 1662, they having been compiled by Bishop San- 
derson after England had become a great naval power. As 
there is no Church Establishment in America, and as we 
have comparatively few Chaplains in our Navy who are 
Churchmen and also a relatively small merchant marine, 
they are less used as yet than in the British Service. The 
public disgrace of inadequate religious provision for sailors 
while in active service is partially atoned for, so far as the 




295 



296 



THE CHURCH I IV THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Church is concerned, by Seamen's Missions, and Chapels 
for seamen on shore, or floating Bethels, in some of the 
larger ports, and by gratuitous distribution of Prayer 
Books. On British steam merchant vessels of the larger 
sort the captain habitually reads the English Service on 
Sunday, and by our first rubric the Daily Service at sea 
is that of the Prayer Book, with the Special and Occasional 
forms which follow. 

•Two appropriate Prayers, one of them familiar elsewhere, 
are provided for use in war-vessels, followed by such as 
are fitting for all vessels in severe storms. The first of 
these quotes the Apostles' cry of distress, and the second 
that of Hezekiah ; followed, when time presses, by brief 
ejaculatory Prayers and Kyries, addressed expressly to 
Our Lord and Saviour. If the danger be imminent, such 
as can be spared from duty are to be summoned together 
for the General Confession and the Absolution of the Com- 
munion Office (if there be a Priest on board), followed by 
the LoroVs Prayer. The Prayers before and during a battle 
are both general and individual, and dwell on God's jus- 
tice as well as on His power, asking only what accords 
with His sovereign will. 

Thanksgiving Psalms and Collects are provided, to be used 
after a Storm and also after a Victory. In the former case 
the Psalms are from the 66th and 107th of the Psalter, the 
former being a Jubilate (peculiarly thankful), and the 
latter (a Psalm of Life) dwelling in part on the dangers 
and deliverances of the sea. The " Hymns of Praise " in 
both cases are composite in their character, being made 
up from many Psalms ; and all are long, implying by 
contrast a peaceful spirit and abundance of time. The 



AT SEA, PRISONERS, FAMILY PRATER. 297 



first Collects are alternative, one presupposing imminent 
peril and the other in a calmer tone. After the Hymn of 
Victory may be said the Te Deum, a national Hymn of 
the loftiest character, and the final Collect before the Grace 
is addressed to God as the " Sovereign Commander of all 
the world." 



The VISITATION OF PRISONERS is not in the Eng- 
lish Book, having been taken from the Prayer Book of 
the Church of Ireland at the first American revision, and 
"being composed in the diffuse style of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. At the time of any Service of Morning or Evening 
Prayer with prisoners generally, the De Profundis Psalm is 
substituted for the Venite, with either one or two Special 
Prayers, as indicated, after the Collect for the Day. As 
the object of imprisonment is reformatory as well as puni- 
tive, these changes give a more penitential character to the 
Service. 

In cases of great crimes, the criminal is to be visited 
" when notice is given," for a special and private Service of 
Prayer, which begins with the first Litany Deprecation, the 
Kyries, the Lord's Prayer, and appropriate Versicles. The 
succeeding Exhortation embodies a part of the first Warn- 
ing in the Communion Office, and inculcates, with great 
particularity and solemnity, the duties of repentance, faith, 
forgiveness and restitution. The word " tender " (mean- 
ing value), in the fourth paragraph, has long been obso- 
lete. The interrogative form of the Apostles' Creed, and 
its response, is followed by a particular oral examination 
and admonition concerning the crimes charged against 
the prisoner, with an exhortation to confession of them as 



298 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



a preparative to reception of the Holy Communion when 
it may be proper to administer the same. The Miserere 
Psalm follows, both kneeling, and the Service closes with 
any or all of the appended Collects, or other Prayers j udged 
proper. Two of these Collects are taken from the Office 
for Ash-Wednesday, and the whole Service bears a marked 
resemblance in construction to that for the Visitation of 
the Sick. 

With condemned CRIMINALS UNDER SENTENCE 

OF DEATH a distinct Service is used, beginning with an 
Exhortation which is terrible in its mingled severity and 
pleading, and closing with an appeal for resignation and 
composure under God's will, based on the discharge of the 
duties before indicated. The Minister then proceeds as in 
an ordinary Visitation, urging the criminal to a confession 
of the crime for which he is to suffer, and to a revelation 
of any "combinations in wickedness" of which he may 
be cognizant. If he confess, proper satisfaction to those 
wronged is to be inculcated, and " the pardoning mercy of 
God " is then to be declared to him in the words of the 
Communion Absolution. 

Two most impressive special Collects follow, one of them 
appealing to the conversion of the repentant thief upon 
the Cross ; and to these are added, as in the Visitation of 
the Sick, the beautiful Antiphon, " Saviour of the world." 
With awful impressiveness the Minister then rises to 
repeat the uninspired portion of the first Anthem said in 
the Burial Office at the open grave (before which the crim- 
inal now stands), closing with the same form of Blessing 
and Commendation as in the Office for the Sick. In case 
the criminal is entitled to receive the Holy Communion, 



AT SEA, PRISONERS, FAMILY PRAYER. 299 



a special (very brief) Altar-Service is provided, the Gospel 
being the same as in the Communion of the Sick. 

At the time of Execution, entire discretion is left with 
the Minister as to devotions, but any public profession or 
declaration is deprecated as not to edification. A " Prayer 
for Imprisoned Debtors " once stood at this place, but such 
a punishment is long since obsolete. Perhaps no Chris- 
tian duty is more generally neglected by laymen than the 
humane one set forth in these Offices, which, without hope 
of temporal reward, is specially named by the Master as a 
title to His favour. It may well be undertaken by organ- 
ized effort, and thereby secure the regularity and efficiency 
which must be lacking if left entirely to individuals. 



Strange as it may seem there is no provision made in 
either English Book for FORMS OF PRAYER TO BE 
USED IN FAMILIES. These dear and familiar words 
were added at the first American revision, and are sub- 
stantially derived from Gibson, Bishop of London. In 
addition to the semi-daily private devotions which (at the 
least) are necessary for all Christians, and to which con- 
certed noon-day intercessions may well be added, the 
Church here sets forth forms for use in the family circle. 
The family was the first estate ordained of God, and from 
it Church and State alike have sprung. The home is the 
great training-ground of character and the seed-bed of 
moral and religious life ; and nursery guidance and prayer 
at the hearthstone lie at the tap-root of all the religion of 
the family. 

As still with the wandering Sheikhs of Arabia (the 



300 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



lineal descendants of Abraham, the father of the faithful), 
it is the inherent right, privilege and duty of every parent 
to be the priest of the household, and this function need 
not be deputed even to an actual Priest, when such an one 
is beneath its roof. The same rules should govern the 
saying of Grace before every meal at the family board, the 
common and habitual meeting-ground of all its members; 
when the thanks which would not in courtesy be withheld 
from a stranger are to be rendered to " the Giver of every 
good and perfect gift" for the daily sustenance of 'our 
perishing bodies. 

The forms here set forth may be taken as models, for 
which others of a well-appointed sort may be substituted; 
and of these there are many Manuals of a varied character 
to be had. Where it is practicable the household servants 
should be allowed to share this privilege. The rubric 
enjoining occasional readings from the New Testament is 
to be considered as only a minimum of prescription. 
Households are differently circumstanced, but where the 
determination exists there are few which cannot sustain a 
daily or semi-daily reading from the Testaments (Old or 
New), for which the daily Lectionary furnishes a thought- 
ful and ample guide. If there are children, these readings 
may pleasantly and profitably be made responsive. 

In the Morning form here given, God's mercies for the 
night past are acknowledged, self-dedication is made 
anew, and Divine grace and guidance are besought for 
the coming day. At Evening, confession of the day's 
shortcomings is followed by a Prayer for pardon and 
grace, intercession for others is mingled with thanksgiv- 
ing for our own manifold blessings, and protection is im- 



AT SEA, PRISONERS, FAMILY PRAYER. 301 



plored for the coming night. The Lord's Prayer and the 
Apostolic Grace are constituent portions of these abbre- 
viated forms of the Daily Service. 



XXX. 



THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 



"J am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord : he 
that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live : 
and tohosoever liveth and believeth in Me, shall never die." — 
St. John xi. 25, 26. 

"I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, 
From henceforth blessed are the dead who die in the Lord : 
even so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours." — 
Revelation xiv. 13. 



EVERENT BURIAL OF THE DEAD was and is uni- 



tian Rites were so distinctive that they became powerful 
influences in the conversion of the Roman Empire. To 
attack the hope of resurrection thus manifested was one 
cause of the choice by persecutors of martyrdom by the 
ordeal of fire. Christ's own burial became the pattern, 
and interment in caves and tombs was common in the 
early Church. In Rome the Catacombs, huge underground 
labyrinths begun by heathens, were completed and used 
by Christians as hiding-places of refuge and worship as 
well as of sepulture, and countless evidences of the latter 
still exist. Care was taken whenever possible to provide 
Christian cemeteries. Burial Services were simple and 
devout, free from the expense and ostentation so common 
to Orientals, accompanied with hymns and hopeful em- 




versal even among the heathen, but the early Chris- 



THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 



303 



blems, showing a reverent care for the body, but devoid of 
superstition. 

Our present Office has no equal in Christendom, and 
shares with that for Matrimony the tribute of being largely 
borrowed by other religious bodies. It is in absolute har- 
mony with Holy Scripture, full of a severe yet simple grand- 
eur and of lofty faith, and variations only mar its beauty. 
It is derived from two ancient Offices, that of the " Com- 
mendation of the Soul " which was said in part at the home, 
and that of the Burial proper at the Church and grave. 
That it was compiled in times of strict and pure disci- 
pline is evinced by its opening rubric, which provides that 
three classes must forego its special consolations. Another 
Service, with the Bishop's approval, such may have, but 
not this, which is manifestly inapplicable to the unbaptized, 
to those formally excommunicate, and to suicides. The 
first class were never admitted to the express privileges of 
the Christian Covenant, the second have been cut off from 
it, and the third have voluntarily removed themselves from 
the sphere of its sanctions. If suicide was caused by in- 
sanity, discretion in use lies with the Minister, who should 
be guided in this respect by the legal verdict of a coroner's 
jury. As to the first case he would perhaps be justified, 
in these days of ecclesiastical confusion, in assuming the 
fact of Baptism unless put upon his guard. 

The INTRODUCTORY PORTION of the Office is now' 
generally preceded by brief selected Prayers offered at the 
home, and far too often the entire Service is held there, 
though the Prayer Book makes no such provision. If this 
must be the case, attending Church people should see to it 
by previous preparation that the Service is not deprived 



304 * THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



of half its impressiveness for lack of proper responses. 
But a due sense that God's house is the natural home of 
all the baptized, and that Christian consolations are preemi- 
nently there imparted, will, in addition to motives of rev- 
erence and convenience, carry conviction that there is the 
proper place for the Burial Office. 

Almost universally if one of the Clergy, and sometimes 
with the laity, the body lies in the Church Porch during 
the night previous to the last Offices. Unless there is a 
pressing reason, such as death from contagious disease, for 
holding the entire Service at the grave, its beginning should 
be at the Church. The wording of the second rubric re- 
veals the fact that the Churchyard, where the dead were 
laid, anciently surrounded or adjoined the Parish Church, 
as is still so common in England. In the First Book the 
entrance is named as " the Church stile" (or Lych-gate), of 
which there are still examples left in the Mother country. 

With us the Minister, perhaps accompanied and pre- 
ceded by the Choir (if vested), meets the procession at the 
Church door, and thus goes before it to the Chancel, recit- 
ing or intoning the Opening Sentences, of which the last was 
added in 1549, the others being of still more ancient use. 
This glorious threefold group of Sentences which has fallen 
with such impressiveness on so many thousand stricken 
hearts, and illustrates such sublimity of faith in a risen 
Redeemer, is taken from both Testaments. The words " I 
am the resurrection and the life " are those of Our Lord to 
Mary at the grave of Lazarus ; and the prophetic utterances 
of faithful Job, in the very dawn of human history, com- 
bine with that of the Apostle Paul to Timothy in supple- 
menting them with the accents of hope and resignation. 



THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 



305 



The first two of these Sentences were anciently chanted 
each evening while the corpse lay unburied. 

Arrived at the Chancel, the Minister takes his place in 
the Choir, while the body is left just below in the Nave, 
with the feet toward the Altar, as toward the East at 
the grave. If the dead be one of the Clergy, the body lies 
in the Choir, and the more correct use places the feet to 
the West in such a case. Every Parish should be provided 
with a suitable Bier on which the body is to rest, and a 
Pall of purple or white, with its emblazoned Cross, with 
which to cover the coffiued remains of all its dead, rich 
and poor alike. One or both of the Selections from the 39th 
and 90th Psalms now follows, in the Psalter version — the 
one that of David when in sore trouble ; the other of Moses 
after the wanderings. The English Book gives both 
Psalms in full, while the First Book has yet others for 
use " either before or after the burial." 

The Lesson, which in the First Book was said at the 
grave, has been in use here with other parts of the New 
Testament from primitive days. It is the latter part of 
that great fifteenth chapter of the first Epistle to the Co- 
rinthians which contains the most explicit and triumph- 
ant teaching in the Bible on the great allied truths of the 
Incarnation and the Resurrection. In the English Book 
no further direction is given until the interment. With 
us a Hymn or Anthem may follow, and, at the Minister's dis- 
cretion, the Creed and any fitting Prayers from the Prayer 
Book. The solemn profession here of the Christian Faith 
by the living is an eloquent recognition of the Communion 
of the Saints. 

If the Holy Eucharist be celebrated, as is common at 

(20) 



306 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



the burial of one of the Clergy, and may well be equally so 
in the case of faithful laity, the proper time for the Office 
is after the Hymn, while the body (in the robes of office if 
one of the Clergy), lies among the worshippers. The cus- 
tom is most appropriate and beautiful, and its observance 
at the burial of martyrs was the origin of Saints' days. It 
is a commemorative act for the dead as well as the living, 
and is a source of the highest comfort to those who mourn. 
Such an Office was prescribed in the First Book, whose 
Introit was the Psalm <J Like as the hart," with a distinct 
Altar-Service, the Collect being the last Prayer used by us 
at the grave. If there be a Sermon (a thing most rare, 
since the whole Office is grandly impersonal and addresses 
itself almost wholly to the living), its place is here as a 
part of the Communion Office. 

At the last Hymn, a beautiful custom is for the robed 
Choir to gather about the Bier in the form of the four arms 
of a Cross, with the Crucifer at the head facing East, and the 
Minister facing the congregation at the foot. At this point 
comes a part or the whole of the remaining Service (com- 
prehensively called the COMMITTAL and designed for 
the grave), when, as allowed by the. final rubric, it is used 
in the Church " for weighty cause." Such cause often ex- 
ists in cities and large towns where cemeteries are distant, 
or where the conditions of climatic exposure are dangerous 
to the survivors, and especially to the Clergy whose desire 
to show sympathy often subjects them to too severe a 
physical te3t. In such cases the actual interment may be 
entirely private, or perhaps accompanied by rites other 
than those purely religious. Whenever the procession 
re-forms for the grave, the corpse and its bearers are fol- 



TEE BURIAL OF TEE DEAD. 



307 



lowed to the Church Porch by the Choir and Minister, who 
precede the mourners. 

At the grave (the Minister being vested), the Service be- 
gins with an Anthem, peculiar to Anglican use, and once 
used as a Compline Hymn, which should be sung or said 
b>y those present with the Minister, and not by him alone. 
Nor should it await the final lowering into the grave, as is 
too common, but is to be used " while the corpse is made 
ready," and so gain in solemnity while affording relief from 
needless distress. It begins with the first two verses of the 
fourteenth chapter of the Book of Job, translated for this 
Service, the remainder being probably the composition of 
Notker, a monk of the ninth century at St. Gall in Switzer- 
land. It is said to have been suggested to him by a cir- 
cumstance similar to the " dreadful trade" of the samphire- 
gatherers on the Dover cliffs, which prompted to Shakes- 
peare so noble a passage in King Lear. 

The strains of this awful Hymn, " In the midst of life 
we are in death," were adopted in the Middle Ages both as 
a dirge and a battle song, until superstition attached to it 
so great a power that the Synod of Cologne, four hundred 
years after, forbade its use. The great commentator Blunt 
eloquently says of it: " When sung to such strains as befit 
its beautiful words, this Anthem has a solemn significance, 
and at the same time a wailing pray erf ulness, which makes 
it unsurpassable by any similar portion of any ritual what- 
soever. It is the prayer of the living for themselves and 
for the departed, when both are in the Presence of God for 
the special object of a final separation (so far as this world 
and visible things are concerned) until the great Day. At 



308 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



such a season we do not argue about prayers for the de- 
parted, but we pray them." 

The Committal, or Commendation to God's care in con- 
secrated ground, is a very ancient custom. In the East- 
ern Church it is accompanied by the words, " The earth 
is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof," etc., implying that 
the earth is sown with bodies as is Paradise with souls. 
In the First Book the soul was here commended to the 
Father, but with us it is recognized as already with Him. 
Originally it was the Minister who cast the earth upon the 
body at the words which recall the primal curse, but now 
any bystander may do so, suggesting the thought that the 
turn of any may next follow. In Burial at Sea a slight 
variation is made to meet the varying conditions, as set 
forth in the form at the end of this Office. The act itself 
is the last symbolic confession of mortality, but the cry of 
human weakness is stilled by the solemn Commendation. 

The closing words of the Committal lead the sorrowing 
heart from the solemn words of the royal preacher in Eccle- 
siastes to the triumphant declaration of Christ's second 
Coming, in St. Paul's words to the Philippian Christians. 
The sublime strains of the second Anthem (in Cranmer's 
translation) are those heard by St. John in the Isle of 
Patmos, following the Vision of the Lamb in glory. They 
are not preferably said by the Minister alone, but joined 
in by those with him. These hopeful words are often said 
over the unconscious bodies of very imperfect Christians, 
who perhaps need all our charity. But who are we that we 
should judge ? And, unless belonging to one of the three 
classes for which the whole Office is improper, they are 
still Christians at least in mem bership. It is said of those 



THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 



309 



" who die in the Lord " that " their works do follow them ." 
We are all alike sinners, and our u sure and certain " hope 
of immortality is a common one to all who profess His 
Name. 

After the responsive Kyries' cry for mercy comes the 
Lord's Prayer without its Doxology , and then two final Col- 
lects, both very beautiful, from the Reformation period. 
The first is a Prayer of victory over natural grief, and boldly 
expresses our confidence in the present felicity of the Inter- 
mediate State, which Dives so anxiously begged that his 
still living brethren might win. The second is called " the 
Collect," as being that used in the Eucharistic Office of the 
First Book, at a Burial. It names God as the Father of our 
Lord, claims Christ's own Words and those of St. Paul, and 
is a wonderfully earnest supplication for us who remain, 
that we may win the rest of Paradise and at last an un- 
worthy place at God's right hand. One or both of these 
Prayers may be used, and the final words are those of the 
Apostolic Grace which were added in 1661, its words " us 
all " undoubtedly including the departed as well as the 
survivors. The Additional Prayers provided at the close 
include one especially applicable to the death of children; 
and it is certainly to be regretted that reverence for the 
dignity of the Office as it stands has prevented more ade- 
quate provision for these peculiarly grievous losses, which 
appeal so pitifully to sympathetic and sorrowing hearts. 

The doctrines of the Intermediate State and of the Res- 
urrection have been dwelt on in the Creeds, and the custom 
of interment with the feet to the East was earlier referred 
to. The Burial Office may be said by Lay-readers, as a 
work of mercy, like parts of the Visitation of the Sick or of 



310 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Prisoners. Flowers have their proper and elevating influ- 
ence at funerals as in themselves emblems of the Resurrec- 
tion, but they almost cease to be such when tortured into 
unmeaning pillows or harps, or worse still into broken 
columns and kindred devices which in so far leave our 
theology to well-meaning but untrained florists. Akin to 
such monstrosities and still more reprehensible are the 
purely pagan symbols like the inverted torch and cinerary 
vase with which Christian cemeteries are filled. 

Happily the day of unrelieved gloom at funerals, scarce- 
ly less repulsive than the hired mourners and noisy osten- 
tation of the East, is passing, to be replaced by usages 
betokening simplicity, naturalness and faith, as becomes 
those who believe that death, painful though it be to the 
bereaved, is but an incident in an endless life. The aban- 
donment of an undue indulgence in raiment of the most 
sombre black, and the use of coffins with a less hopeless 
shade of covering are indications of a healthier public 
sentiment, now becoming emancipated from the under- 
taker's absolute sway in such matters. And with these 
ought to disappear the tolling of Church bells at funerals r 
which often has a depressing effect upon the sick. Inor- 
dinate expense too at such times, especially among the 
poor, is, let us hope, to be abandoned as more rational ideas 
break in upon this and other practices which are really 
born of superstition rather than of true reverence. Another 
gain will be made for principle as well as health when an 
unnatural and hopeless care ceases to be expended upon 
the perishing body in the use of metallic caskets or other 
devices, whereby it is temporarily retarded from "return- 
ing to the dust as it was." The sanitary argument for 



THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. 



311 



cremation may be strong in some cases in populous centres, 
but the deepest Christian sense will cling to the retention 
of a last resting-place in our Mother Earth, whence violets 
spring. 

Loving thoughtfulness for our dead will always prompt 
us to erect monuments in stone or brass to their memory , 
but it is worthy of reflection whether even this may not 
be carried to too great an extent. Memorials which are 
in themselves useful and live on in helpfulness to others, 
like the adjuncts and adornments of a Parish Church, or 
better still the endowment of education or charity or wor- 
ship, are best of all. And every congregation which has 
among its members the very poor who can not procure for 
their loved ones six feet of earth outside the pauper's lot, 
should see to it as an act of Christian charity, that the 
Church itself possesses a final resting-plaee for such in 
God's acre, " without money and without price." 



XXXI. 



THE ORDINATION OF DEACONS AND PRIESTS. 

"And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the 
Holy Ghost, ***** whom they set before the Apos- 
tles : and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on 
them. And the word of God increased; and the number of 
the disciples multiplied ***** y and a great com- 
pany of the Priests were obedient to the faith.'''' — Acts of the 
Apostles vi. 5-7. 

"Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; 
and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.'''' — St. John 
xx. 23. 

TT LL that follows in the Prayer Book (as familiarly so 
called), forms no part of the American Book of Com- 
mon Prayer under a strict construction, and it is so indicated 
in its Table of Contents. The Offices hereafter recited are 
of occasional use and therefore printed in smaller type, 
and their rendering is limited to the powers of the highest 
Order of the Ministry, they being such as were accordingly 
embraced anciently under the name of "The Pontifical." 
The first section of these was not adopted in America until 
1792 (three years later than the Prayer Book proper), as 
indicated by its separate Ratification, bat is substantially 
the same as the corresponding English Offices. Though 
long bound together with the rest of the Book, this part, 
called THE ORDINAL, was originally printed by itself, and 
hence contained a repetition of the Litany and the Holy 

312 



ORDINATION OF DEACONS AND PRIESTS. 313 



Communion, which are integral parts of its Offices. This 
repetition still continues, though the Holy Communion 
does not here comprise either the Warnings or the Addi- 
tional Collects ; and both that and the Litany are to be 
rendered here by Bishops only. 

The Ordinal consists of three distinct Services, consti- 
tuting a series, i. e., the Form and Manner of MAKING 
DEACONS, of ORDERING PRIESTS and of ORDAINING 
OR CONSECRATING A BISHOP. These are the three 
Holy Orders of the Christian and Apostolic Ministry. A 
Deacon is said to be in Partial Orders and a Priest in Full 
Orders, while a Bishop transmits Orders. The names of the 
three Orders as bodies are the Diaconate, the Presbyterate or 
Priesthood, and the Episcopate. The authority for trans- 
mission of the gift of Orders lies with the Episcopate alone, 
and is derived in unbroken succession from the Apostles 
themselves, who in turn received it from Our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Supreme Head of the Church. The acceptance 
of these truths rests upon warrant as strong as that for 
Infant Baptism or for the sanctity of the First Day of the 
week. 

The comprehensive and masterly Preface to the Ordinal 
is the work of Archbishop Cranmer. The appeal is to the 
record of human history, and the verdict here recorded is, 
after investigation, seriously challenged by none whose can- 
dour and intelligence command respect. " It is evident un- 
to all men, diligently reading Holy Scripture and ancient 
Authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been these 
Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church." And to this stream 
of blended Divine and human history the Elder Dispensa- 
tion brings its world-old tribute, in the analogous and pre- 



314 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



figurative threefold Ministry of the Hebrew Church which, 
when joined to the Patriarchal Dispensation which pre- 
ceded it, makes but one divinely-organized Church in the 
world from the day of faithful Abraham. 

As the first Bishops were the Apostles, so the germ of 
the Priesthood was in the Seventy who were sent forth 
two and two by Our Lord, and the first Deacons were the 
" seven men of honest report," named in the sixth chapter 
of the Acts, of whom the holy St. Stephen was one. As long 
as the first Bishops composed the Apostolic College itself, 
Priests were temporarily called Bishops ; but at the death 
of the Apostles their successors, not willing to assume the 
dignity of the original Twelve, received the title of Bishops, 
and the second Order took the name of Priests or Presby- 
ters, which it has ever since retained. The third Order has 
never varied its name, and the functions of all three have 
been unchanged from the beginning. Our Lord himself 
is called in Holy Scripture both Apostle and Bishop, 
Priest and Deacon, and Bishops are styled the " angels " 
(or messengers) of the Churches in the Apocalypse. 

The choice of a Minister to serve them rests with the 
individual congregation through their representatives, but 
his Ordination to the functions of the Office itself is vested 
in the Episcopate alone. Deacons are ordained before 
appointment or election to a specific post of duty, but a 
Priest must be provided with work before his Ordination 
to the Office. His election to parochial duty is made by a 
Parish Vestry, or he is appointed to a mission-field by a 
Bishop. A Bishop is either elected by a Diocese or chosen 
by the collective Episcopate from the members of the 
Priesthood ; and is afterward consecrated to this higher 



ORDINATION OF BEACONS AND PRIESTS. 315. 



Office. Thus, though St. Paul was miraculously called, 
and preached long before the other Apostles recognized 
him, still neither he nor Sts. Barnabas, Timothy nor Titus, 
though chosen by Apostles, were called Apostles or Bishops 
until after receiving the Laying-on of Hands. 

When Orders are once conferred they are thereafter 
indelible. Their possessor may be subsequently inhibited, 
suspended or permanently deposed from the active exercise 
of clerical functions, but however unworthy he may be, 
and though he may engage in other pursuits, their charac- 
ter has been stamped upon him for life by the Church, and 
in case of his restoration no re-ordination is required. No 
Church of England Clergyman can sit among the laity as 
a member of the Lower House of Parliament, unless he 
have renounced his Ministry. 

The functions of the three Orders vary and are progress- 
ive. Connected with them are manifold duties involving 
degrees in rank and variations in title, which however da 
not infringe upon or add to this threefold gradation. Such, 
titles are Canon, Dean, Suffragan, Coadjutor, Cardinal, 
Archbishop, Metropolitan, Patriarch, Presiding Bishop > 
Primate ; which indicate classes of administrative labour or 
priority in official distinction in the two higher Orders of 
the Ministry, but are not in themselves Orders. Thus the 
Archbishop of Canterbury is the Primate of the English 
Church ; as the Senior Bishop (in order of consecration, 
unless he have resigned his jurisdiction) is of the American. 
In the wider sense Orders is a Sacrament, though limited 
to a single body of men and not of itself conveying the 
grace of forgiveness to its recipient. 

Around the essence of these three Offices, which is the 



316 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



tactual transmission of grace and authority in relative 
measure through the Imposition of Hands by members of 
the Historic Episcopate (as originally by the Divine breath 
of the God-man), has sprung up more than one extended 
and impressive form of Ordination. u In this [National] 
Church," as in the Church of England, no other form of 
" consecration or ordination " is recognized as lawful save 
that which is " Episcopal," whether administered here in 
the first instance or originally received elsewhere. The 
questions of validity and parity of Orders are to be con- 
sidered entirely apart from questions of doctrine ; and 
Ministers of Churches like the Roman (whose presump- 
tuous and false additions to the pure Faith have long 
placed her out of the pale of inter-communion), would, on 
abjuration of their errors, neither need nor receive re-con- 
secration in order to minister at our Altars. 

The Deacon is the Server. He fulfils such special works 
of mercy and charity as may also be performed by a lay- 
man, such as visiting and relieving the sick, the poor, the 
friendless and the prisoner, instructing the young, and 
burying the dead ; and, like a Lay-reader, officiating in the 
Daily Service and reading approved Sermons. Beside 
these duties he baptizes, marries, assists the Priest in many 
ways (including the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist), 
and may preach his own Sermons if duly licensed thereto 
by the Bishop. He is responsible directly to the Ordi- 
nary, or subordinately to a Priest if serving in a Parish. 

The Priest is expressly the administrator of the Sacra- 
ments and succeeds, in the sacrificial duties of the Christian 
Ministry, to those functions which were defined, under 
the Mosaic economy, by the term Cohen, and in the Latin 



ORDINATION OF DEACONS AND PRIESTS. 31? 



and Greek by Sacerdos and Hiereus; functions which may- 
be traced through the recognized Priesthood of mysterious 
Melchizedek to the accepted offering of righteous Abel. 
He is the Pastor of his flock and has full spiritual over- 
sight and charge of his congregation and of the scattered 
members of his Cure. He is also Preacher as well as 
Pastor and Priest, and the exercise of the Prophetic office 
is not the least of his sacred obligations. 

The Bishop is the Episkopos or Overseer, and his duties 
are mainly those of superintendence, organization and 
leadership. He does not abdicate or minimize his priestly 
and prophetic functions on entering the Episcopate, but 
superadds to them " the care of all the Churches " within 
his See. He is the authorized Layer-on of Hands in Con- 
firmation and Ordination, and is the chief Missionary of 
his jurisdiction. 

These respective duties, which stand in turn for Service, 
Sacrifice and Oversight, for Pastorship, Prophecy and Rule, 
are the continuance in these latter days of that work of 
Church organization which is clearly outlined in the first 
volume of Church history, the Book of the Acts of the 
Apostles. And this primitive history cannot fail to have 
been the result of the Divine instruction., otherwise unre- 
corded, of the Risen Lord, during those great Forty Days 
in which He taught His disciples in the " things concerning 
the kingdom of God that kingdom which is the Apos- 
tolic Church, deriving authority from above. 

For admission to this Ministry the candidate must be 
" called, tried and examined." Before becoming a formal 
Candidate he must first be a Postulant, and furnish at 
different stages of his progress explicit testimonials from 



318 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



Priests and laymen. These should be most carefully 
weighed, and concern his peculiar fitness no less than his 
freedom from reproach. After the previous acquirement 
of a collegiate training or its equivalent, full provision is 
now insisted on, in theological seminaries and divinity 
schools or otherwise, for a learned Ministry. In all pre- 
liminary requirements the greatest care is exercised 
through the approving of character and the lapse of time 
necessary to equip for a thorough examination in the 
requisite branches, under a Bishop's direction. And still 
the standard is kept carefully high even in case of those 
Clergy trained in other systems, who, after perhaps many 
years of faithful and highly intelligent and successful ser- 
vice there, at last, as is so often chronicled, seek our own . 

The canonical age for admission to the Diaconate is 
twenty-one years (in England twenty -three), to the Priest- 
hood twenty-four, and to the Episcopate thirty. The candi- 
date must be at the outset " learned as the Canons require," 
which .is an amplification of the simpler phraseology of 
the English Book, " in the Latin tongue." The ordinary 
" times appointed " for the two lower Orders are the quar- 
terly Ember or Ordination Seasons (already explained else- 
where), but these may be set aside by the Bishop, "on urgent 
occasion," for some other day. " In the face of the Church " 
indicates great publicity and reverent preparation. In 
Sees where, according to the normal order, Cathedrals exist, 
as will some day be our rule and not the exception, there 
in the Bishop's Church would seem the fitting place for 
this high solemnity, though any Parish Church or Semi- 
nary Chapel is of course proper. Bishops may be conse- 
crated at any time and place fixed by appointment of the 



ORDINATION OF DEACONS AND PRIESTS. 319 



Presiding Bishop, one of whose duties is to " take order " 
in these matters. The time chosen is very generally a 
Sunday or Holy -day, and it is invariably so by rubric in 
the English Book. 

Each of the three Forms of Ordination is a Morning 
Office, as the Litany and the Holy Communion form parts 
of them. In each case Morning Prayer is to be said pre- 
viously, preferably at an earlier hour as a separate Service. 
The major part of all three Offices, with a few indicated ex- 
ceptions, is to be taken by a Bishop, and the Sermon, in case 
of the first two, is addressed specifically to Clergy as well 
as people upon the " duty and office " of those ordained. 
As will be seen later, Deacons receive the Laying-on of 
Hands after the Epistle, Priests after the Gospel and a 
Bishop after the Nicene Creed. It will be convenient to 
consider together the analysis of the first two Offices, leav- 
ing that for a Bishop for treatment by itself. 

Each of the two LESSER ORDINATIONS begins with 
a Sermon, and the rubric directs that it shall set forth the 
necessity of these Offices and the popular esteem in which 
they should be held. After the Sermon the Bishop is 
seated within the Sanctuary, and to him at the Rail are 
presented the candidates for either Office, in both cases 
by a Priest (in England by an Archdeacon or his deputy). 
The provision that they are to be " decently habited " (in- 
serted in 1662) implies the Vestments to be used in their 
subsequent ministration in the Office in question. The 
Presentation and Warning are followed by a Summons by the 
Bishop to the people to name the impediment, if any there 
be, to their reception into or advancement in the Sacred 
Ministry. Silence indicates the assent of the laity, as the 



320 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



positive statement has already done for the Clergy In the 
second Ordination the Bishop himself certifies as to fitness, 
but in either case he here ceases from further procedure if 
challenged. 

The Litany follows, and is found here in most of the 
ancient Services of Western Christendom. Its full form is 
used (with a special Suffrage in each case, following that 
for " all Bishops, Priests and Deacons," and closing with 
its final Prayer, " We humbly beseech Thee, O Father,") as 
a direct Preface to the Holy Communion. The Collect for 
Deacons refers to St. Stephen, whose Ordination is narrated 
in one of the alternative Epistles, the other being St. Paul's 
instruction to St. Timothy on their proper qualifications. 
The Collect and alternative Epistles for Priests are similar 
to these, and there the alternative Gospels cite the example 
of Christ as the Good Shepherd. Before the Gospel in the 
Service for Deacons comes a detailed catechetical Examina- 
tion, which, in that for Priests, is preceded, after the Gospel, 
by a very special and solemn Exhortation to the candidate 
on the great dignity and responsibility of the Pastoral 
Office and the special need of Divine grace to ensure a 
faithful discharge of its weighty and serious duties. 

In the solemn series of Ordination Vows which now suc- 
ceed, the candidate for each Order expresses a belief in his 
inward call to the Sacred Ministry, " according to the will 
of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Canons of this Church," 
and also in the Holy Scriptures as containing " all doc- 
trine necessary for eternal salvation." Each furthermore 
promises obedience to his Bishop and other chief canon- 
ical Ministers, " following with a glad mind and will their 
godly admonitions, and submitting to their godly judg- 



ORDINATION OF DEACONS AND PRIESTS. 321 



merits," and also to frame and fashion his life and those of 
his family according to the doctrine of Christ. In addi- 
tion to these common obligations, a Deacon pledges his 
loyal assistance to the Priest in the various subordinate 
functions already recited ; and a Priest undertakes " with 
all faithful diligence to banish and drive away from the 
Church all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to 
God's Word." The latter also pledges himself to dili- 
gence in prayer and study and in the furthering of " quiet- 
ness, peace and love among all Christian people;" as well 
as to " use both public and private monitions and exhor- 
tations," and " so to minister the Doctrine and Sacraments 
and the Discipline of Christ, as the Lord hath commanded, 
and as this Church hath received the same." 

Upon the head of him who is to become a Deacon the 
Bishop, as the candidate kneels, now lays his hands, using 
the authoritative words of Ordination and Mission, which 
admit him to the Sacred Ministry of Christ in the name * 
of the Holy Trinity ; with the delivery to him of a copy 
of the New Testament and the command " to read the 
Gospel in the Church of God, and preach the same if thou 
be thereto licensed by the Bishop himself." The distin- 
guishing outward mark of his Office, the crossed Stole, 
may then be placed upon his shoulder and the newly- 
ordered Deacon (if there be more than one, he is selected) 
reads the Gospel, which is Our Lord's charge to watchful- 
ness. The Communion Service is then proceeded with, 
those who have been ordained receiving the same; and its 
final Collect is a Prayer for humility and constancy. 

In case an Ordination of Deacons and Priests is held at 
the same time, the former are first presented, examined 

(21) 



322 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



and ordained; the Litany being used but once, together 
with both Collects, the Epistle from the Service for Priests, 
and an alternative Gospel. Unless the Bishop sees rea- 
sonable cause, a Deacon must so remain at least a year, at 
the end of which time he may be admitted Priest by his 
Diocesan. Unhappily the Diaconate is little else than a 
mere stepping-stone to the Priesthood, at least in Amer- 
ica; and under the prevailing status of clerical support 
must largely remain so, the minimum of service as a 
Deacon being generally availed of. But this state of 
things has arisen from an imperfect conception of the real 
nature of this Order, which is not necessarily a purely 
clerical one. 

So long as this impression finds a general lodgment, 
the Church will continue to be deprived of the adequate 
help of one of her primitive and Apostolic arms of service, 
which now hardly wins recognition as a distinct and 
enduring Order. But godly men, winning a livelihood in 
other avocations, are beginning to realize that a vast work 
may be accomplished by them in the Church of their love 
by their admittance into the Diaconate, without the neces- 
sity or expectation of further promotion. Such men as 
these who, possessing high character, are successful in sec- 
ular pursuits of a nature compatible with sacred work, 
are just the men to do good service for God and His Church 
in the restricted or perpetual Diaconate ; reserving for the 
Priesthood those who have both the desire and liberty to 
give their entire lives unreservedly to work in a higher 
Order. 

A Lay-reader must be a communicant, having a revo- 
cable license in writing from his Bishop for a limited term, 



ORDINATION OF DEACONS AND PRIESTS. 323 



which license is not valid outside of his Diocese. He may- 
serve a vacant Parish if it be unable to secure an ordained 
Minister, and may act therein as a Catechist if especially 
licensed. Where there is an officiating Clergyman, he is 
subordinate to his direction, and is never to use the Abso- 
lution or Benediction, nor any Office beside the Daily 
Service, save that for the Burial of the Dead and parts of 
those for the Visitation of the Sick and of Prisoners. 



To continue in the ORDINATION OF PRIESTS, the 

Vows are succeeded by the Bishop's Blessing as he rises, 
and then by a space of Silent Prayer by the whole congre- 
gation. This is a most impressive act, existing in no other 
Service, not even at the consecration of a Bishop, and 
well indicates the intrinsic dignity of the Priestly Office 
and its great concern to the whole Church. The Hymn 
Veni, Creator Spiritus, which is now to be sung or said by 
the Bishop and those who are present, responsively by 
verses as indicated, was originally in Latin and is attrib- 
uted to St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. It has been in 
use here since the eleventh century, is in two translated 
versions, and is the only metrical Hymn inserted in the 
Prayer Book. The first of these translations is the one 
almost universally employed, it being ascribed to the poet 
Dryden and much superior to the latter, which is very 
diffuse and the work of Archbishop Cranmer. It is a 
thrillingly impressive Invocation of the Holy Spirit as 
Creator and Paraclete, and also a Prayer for light, love 
and spiritual knowledge. 

A final and most comprehensive Prayer follows before 
the Form of Ordination and Mission, which strikingly dif- 



324 THE CHURCH JiT THE PRAYER BOOK. 



fers from that of Deacons, dating in the present form from 
about the thirteenth century. The Priesthood is openly 
recognized as the normal order of the Ministry by the assent 
of the Priests present, testified to by their joining with, 
the Bishop in the Imposition of Hands. The act would be 
valid without them, but their coordinate welcome is none 
the less impressive. The Bishop's words of Ordination 
are in alternative form, the first being generally used as a 
fuller expression of the truth and grace also conveyed hy 
the second. The solemn Commission is couched in words 
which repeat those of the Great Head of the Church 
himself at the original establishment of the Apostolic Min- 
istry. The gift of the Holy Ghost is bestowed through 
the channel of Divine appointment, and for the purpose 
of the faithful Dispensation of God's Word and of His 
Sacraments. 

The charge to Priests to exercise the power of declaratory 
Absolution is unhesitatingly expressed in words which con- 
vey an implicit official sanction. While Absolution is min- 
isterial alone so far as its dispenser is concerned, it is not 
officially conveyed except through the Christian Priesthood. 
There will be nothing " hard to be understood " here, if the 
analogy is applied of an official declaration to a condemned 
criminal of pardon granted by the State. Though hope may 
have discounted its approach and common rumour even 
familiarized its terms to him, yet the pardon is not dis- 
tinctly appropriated by the criminal himself and made a 
personal right, until its formal promulgation to him by the 
Sheriff, whose function alone it is to make it. 

As the New Testament is given to a Deacon, so the 
entire Word of God is bestowed upon a Priest, with the 



ORDINATION OF DEACONS AND PRIESTS. 325 



authority to minister " where lawfully appointed there- 
unto." This phrase is a distinct limitation to proper and 
lawful jurisdiction, and confers no roving commission in a 
Church of law and order. As the gift of the Bible symbol- 
izes the Word, so in the First Book a Chalice and Paten 
were here bestowed on the Priest to symbolize the Sacra- 
ments. The Priest's Stole may now be placed upon both his 
shoulders, and the full profession of the Christian Faith is 
made in the Nicene Creed. The Communion Office is then 
proceeded with, the newly-ordained remaining in their 
places until their own Reception thereof; and the final Col- 
lect is especially adapted to their needs. In the First 
Book the Service for the Ordering of Priests varied some- 
what in its arrangement, and was longer than now ; while 
Tsoth this Office and that for Deacons contained, before the 
Ordination Vows, the administration of the " Oath of the 
King's supremacy," which, in England, was retained in a 
modified form until 1865. 



XXXII. 



THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 

" Then saith J esus to them again, Peace be unto you: a& 
my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He 
had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Re- 
ceive ye the Holy Ghost."— St. John xx. 21, 22. 

** Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost: * * * * and lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
the end of the world."— St. Matthew xxviii. 19, 20. 



HE Service for the CONSECRATION OF A BISHOP 



resembles the one for Priests much more than that 
for Deacons. None but Bishops take part in it, and at 
least three are always present to assure the succession, 
specific portions being assigned to this number. It differs 
from the other two Offices in that no part of it is prefatory 
to the beginning of the Communion Office, the Litany 
being said after the Nicene Creed and the Sermon. All 
arrangements for a Consecration are made by the Primate, 
who, if not present in person to act as chief Consecrator, 
deputes that duty to some other Bishop. The place of 
consecration is a matter of mutual arrangement, and is 
naturally either the candidate's former Parish Church, or 
else the Cathedral or some principal Church of his future 
Diocese. 

If he is to be a Missionary Bishop to either a Domestic 
or Foreign field, his nomination lies entirely with the col- 




326 



THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 327 



lective House of Bishops, to be confirmed or rejected by 
the House of Deputies of the General Convention if in 
session. If he is to be a Diocesan Bishop or his Coadjutor, 
the choice lies with the Convention of that Diocese (which 
is a representative body of both Clergy and laity), in which 
choice a majority of both Orders must concur. In either 
case his election is notified officially to all the other Dio- 
ceses, and before order can be taken for his consecration, 
confirmation must be made thereof by a majority of the 
Standing Committees (a body in each Diocese, generally of 
Clergy and laity, chosen by the Convention thereof as the 
Bishop's advisers, and which, when there is no Bishop, 
constitutes its Ecclesiastical Authority), and afterward by a 
majority of the House of Bishops. Standing Committees 
of Missionary jurisdictions, either Domestic or Foreign, 
are appointed by their Bishop, and have no power to con- 
firm an election. If the Triennial National Council of the 
Church, called the General Convention, be in session at 
the time, the functions of the Standing Committees in this 
regard devolve upon the clerical and lay deputies from 
the respective Dioceses, therein assembled as the House of 
Deputies. Standing Committees exercise powers which 
in other National Churches are vested in various individ- 
uals ; and they are not in all things responsible directly 
to the Dioceses that appoint them. 

A Domestic Missionary Bishop may be chosen to the 
charge of a full Diocese, either to his own when it becomes 
such, or to another ; though the intrinsic propriety of the 
second course may be doubted. This latter change is called 
Translation. But Foreign Missionary Bishops are not thus 
eligible except under stringent conditions. A resignation 



328 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



of Episcopal jurisdiction requires the assent of the House 
of Bishops, and is looked on with disfavour. A Bishop is 
bound to his Diocese for life, and his Coadjutor, if there 
be one, succeeds him. The latter may be chosen when the 
Diocesan becomes unable to discharge his Episcopal duties 
and signifies his consent thereto. In the English Church, 
Bishops are unfortunately appointed by the Crown. 

The special Collect is, with slight variations, that for St. 
Peter's Day, he being the leader of the Apostolic College. 
The Epistle and Gospel are both alternative, the latter doubly 
so, and Collect, Epistle and Gospel are each read by a dif- 
ferent Bishop. The first Epistle has been used here from 
time immemorial, and both of them dwell on the duties 
of Episcopal oversight, in the words of St. Paul. The three 
Gospels declare respectively Christ's triple charge to St. 
Peter, His charge to all the Apostles (as in the Ordination 
of Priests), and His charge to His whole Church which is 
its charter and perpetual guaranty. After the Nicene Creed 
and the Sermon comes the Presentation of the Bishop-elect 
to the Consecrator " sitting in his chair," by two other 
Bishops his friends and associates. He has himself been 
previously " vested with his Rochet" a short, close linen 
Surplice, a modification of the Alb, with strait sleeves or 
sleeveless. 

In the English Book the " Queen's Mandate for the Con- 
secration " is here demanded and read, followed by the 
" Oath of due Obedience to the Archbishop." We substi- 
tute for these the reading of the official Testimonials, and 
the recital by the candidate of the Promise of Conformity to 
the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Church. The 
former certify as to the regularity of his election and con- 



THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 



329 



firmation, and to his canonical learning and fitness. The 
Bishop's Call to Prayer succeeds, citing the example of Our 
Lord and of His A postles. The English Book speaks of the 
call of Sts. Paul and Barnabas, and ours of St. Matthias. 
This leads to the saying of the Litany, with a special Suf- 
frage (in substitution instead of addition), and a Prayer for 
the Bishop-elect, of which one of the Ember Prayers is an 
echo. It is noteworthy that the personal Address which 
follows is couched in a tone of brotherly equality. 

The Vows of Consecration, which are the solemn answers 
to the examination at this point, are in part the same as 
those of a Priest, except that obligation to administer the 
Sacraments is not emphasized, this having been already 
once promised on entering the Priesthood, of which he is 
still to be no less a member. The closing pledges include 
in addition a promise to exercise disciplinary power, and 
faithfulness in Confirmation, Ordination and Mission : and 
to show himself an example to all in gentleness, charity 
and self-denial. After another special plea for Divine help 
the Bishop is to " put on the rest of the Episcopal habit," 
with a view as well to his immediate ministration in the 
Holy Communion, which is to be his first function. The 
Bishop's ordinary robes, in addition to the Rochet, are the 
Chimere of satin with full lawn sleeves gathered at the wrist; 
but he may exchange them both for a simple Surplice and 
Stole when officiating only as a Priest. 

As at the Ordination of Priests (but without the space 
for silent Prayer), the Veni, Creator Spiritus is sung or said, 
and the Prayer which precedes the actual Consecration is 
similar to that of the earlier Office except that the author- 
ity now to be given is besought to be " not to destruction, 



330 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



but to salvation ; not to hurt, but to help." All the Bish- 
ops present join with the Consecrator in the Imposition of 
Hands, and the form of words is in part similar to that 
spoken over a Priest. The gift of the power of Absolution, 
however, which was then conferred and is still inherent, is 
replaced by the words of St. Paul's exhortation to Timothy 
to " stir up the grace of God which is given thee." 

With the delivery of the Bible (which in the First 
Book was laid upon his neck like a yoke), comes a grand 
Charge, parts of which are often quoted : " Be to the 
flock of Christ a shepherd, not a wolf ; feed them, devour 
them not. Hold up the weak, heal the sick, bind up the 
broken, bring again the outcasts, seek the lost. Be so 
merciful, that you be not too remiss ; so minister disci- 
pline, that you forget not mercy," etc. At these words the 
Pastoral Staff (or Crozier), as an emblem of Episcopal over- 
sight and rule was, in the First Book, placed in the hands 
of the newly-consecrated Bishop. This highly appropri- 
ate symbol is often carried by a Bishop, and is a part of 
the legitimate insignia of his Office. An Episcopal Ring 
is also usually worn, anciently called the " seal of faith," 
and a token of being wedded to the Church of God. The 
Communion Service is then resumed, and its last Collect 
implores for the future work of another member of the 
Historic Episcopate peculiar graces, before the Blessing of 
Peace. 

The perpetuity of the Episcopate by succession is not 
only thoroughly established as a matter of record, but the 
value and validity of this mode of spiritual organization 
rests on the same logical basis as do the analogous meth- 
ods of all life and all history. The natural generation of 



THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 331 



plants and animals, from the lowest to the highest orders, 
comes by a succession regularly devolved, and the control 
of all well-organized human government (unless inter- 
rupted by revolution or conquest), passes by a carefully 
guarded order of descent. The Mosaic economy, the 
appointed prefigurement and shadow of the Christian 
Church, was the source of Divine solicitude in this respect 
no less than in others, and the descent of Christ, the great 
High Priest, from royal David and through him from the 
patriarch Abraham, is a fact of revelation. Why should 
it be otherwise than natural that the organic Kingdom of 
God should follow the universal rule of continuity ? 

The ancient maxim ft No Church without a Bishop n 
has been true since St. James was chosen the first Bishop of 
Jerusalem (the mother of all the Churches), and as such, 
held the Primacy of the first Apostolic Council whose 
story is in the Book of the Acts. That primitive Episcopal 
jurisdiction was not universally by Dioceses is no argu- 
ment against the need of the Order. The Chicago-Lambeth 
Declaration itself says that the Historic Episcopate is to 
be " locally adapted in the methods of its administration 
to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of 
God into the unity of His Church." Yet in administra- 
tion the unity of the Episcopate is secured by the fact 
that Dioceses are units, independent among themselves*, 
yet federated like our National government into the abso- 
lute independence of great National Churches as regards 
all matters of discipline, and ritual or liturgical obser- 
vance. It is this fact that enables our Prayer Book to b& 
differentiated from that of the Church of England. The 
latter, our honoured Mother, is unhappily trammeled by 



332 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



her connection with the State power, and can no longer do 
as she would, even in revising her own liturgy. And no 
National Church may tamper with the historic Creeds of 
Christendom, which sum up the Faith once for all deliv- 
ered unto the Saints. 

It has been earlier said that at least three Bishops 
unite in any Consecration, but generally a still larger num- 
ber are present ; and the conferring of Orders here is fre- 
quently shared in by Bishops of the Church of England 
and her colonies, with all of whom we are in absolute 
intercommunion. A diagram for a single century, show- 
ing the interlacing lines of ecclesiastical descent, demon- 
strates conclusively that the true simile of Episcopal suc- 
cession is that of a net of countless strands rather than a 
single chain ; and that such a net is, even humanly speak- 
ing, incapable of rupture. In addition to its common 
duties of confirming the baptized, perpetuating the Apos- 
tolic Ministry, and general supervision in aggressive work, 
the Episcopate is set for two great functions, i. e., to guard 
and transmit the Faith, and to be a continuous witness in 
an unending line to the truths of the Incarnation and the 
Resurrection. 

As a guardian against the intrusion of false or corrupt 
doctrine and as the authoritative regulator of public wor- 
ship, each Bishop is, within his canonical limitations, 
supreme in his own Diocese or Jurisdiction. As a direct 
inheritor in a single Order to which was irrevocably com- 
mitted the testimony of the truths on which our hopes are 
built, his position is unique. " Empowered to direct his 
own Bishopric in all spiritual concerns, he stands nearest 
to his Master of all that Master's earthly servants. For 



THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS. 33a 



this he receives an additional gift of the Holy Spirit ; and 
if he stirs up the gift thus bestowed, a spiritual wisdom 
will result such as cannot be looked for in the inferior 
Orders of the Ministry. " 

The ordinary and routine duties of Bishops may be 
performed reciprocally for one another upon request in case 
of sickness, absence, or temporary disability. Indeed, each 
is not in a strict sense the Bishop of a Diocese, but a Bishop 
of the Church in a Diocese. Each Bishop, in other words, 
is a member of the Apostolate, and as such belongs to the 
whole Church of God on earth, to " all the flock over the 
which the Holy Ghost hath made them overseers. " What- 
ever honourable part the other Clergy and the laity may 
be privileged to have in promoting Christian Unity, it is 
the Apostolate alone which can ever ultimately effect it, inas- 
much as to that Order and to none other was the power 
and promise originally entrusted. And therefore a pure 
form of historic Faith and Order is the only hope of Amer- 
ican Christianity, and consequently of America itself. 

The Six undisputed General Councils held in the early- 
days of the undivided Church (and earlier referred to) 
were composed of Bishops representing the whole Chris- 
tian world. The last was at Constantinople in 680 A. D., 
and all their decrees are binding upon the whole Catholic 
Church, for they express those truths which "semper, ubique 
et ab omnibus" have been held as essentials. How soon in 
these latter and less united days the Providence of God 
may permit another to assemble, only He can know. 
What most nearly resembles such representative Councils 
(though voluntary in attendance and without the power 
of legislation), are the so-called Lambeth Conferences, which. 



334 THE CHURCH IX THE PRAYER BOOK. 



since 1867 have in decennial periods assembled by invi- 
tation at the See of St. Augustine, in England the Mother 
Church of the entire Anglican Communion, and, on the 
"bank of the Thames, under the Presidency of the vener- 
able Archbishop of Canterbury, have held high confer- 
ence concerning the welfare of Christ's Church on earth. 
No little impress upon this body has been made by the 
high character and wisdom of the members of the Ameri- 
can branch of the Episcopate, which numbered nearly one- 
fourth in a total enrolment of one hundred and forty-five 
Bishops in 1888, when their own Declaration upon Chris- 
tian Unity made at Chicago two years before was reaf- 
firmed by the greater body. Truly, in weighty words from 
eloquent lips, "An assembly of Bishops, solemnly gath- 
ered together with prayer for the guidance of the Holy 
Spirit, is the highest spiritual authority upon earth to 
which the Church can appeal for guidance." 



XXXIII. 



THE REMAINING OFFICES. 



" Grant, we beseech Thee, that in this place now set apart 
to Thy service, Thy holy Name may be worshipped in truth 
and purity through all generations." — Collect for the Con- 
secration of a Church. 

" Holy J esus, * * * * * ; Be graciously pleased 
to bless the ministry and service of him who is now appointed 
to offer the sacrifices of prayer and praise to Thee in this 
house, which is called by Thy Name." — Collect in the Insti- 
tution Office. 



HERE is no form for the CONSECRATION OF A 



x CHURCH OR CHAPEL in the English Book, and 
our own was not set forth until 1799, it being based on one 
drawn up by Bishop Andre wes. In England various 
forms are promulgated by Diocesan authority, and in the 
same manner Services at the dedication of other religious 
buildings and for the Laying of a Corner-stone are used 
both there and here. From the very earliest times special 
places have been set apart for the exclusive worship of 
Almighty God. Perhaps the first recorded instance is 
Jacob's altar, erected at Bethel. Moses, by Divine com- 
mand, erected the temporary and wandering Tabernacle 
in the wilderness, and in like manner Solomon built the 
first Temple. This sacred building, perhaps the most 
costly ever erected by man, with the most ornate ritual 
known to history, after being twice destroyed and rebuilt, 




335 



336 THE CHURCH IS THE PRATES, BOOK. 



was hallowed by the footsteps of the Son of God, who 
came thither to the Temple worship. The Apostles were 
•• constantly in the Temple, praising and blessing God, r? 
and Christian Chnrche3 soon took the place of Jewish syn- 
agogues, as Christianity supplanted the ancient religion of 
that dispersed people. From that time to this the history 
of consecrated buildings illustrates the history of the race. 

This Service is by a Bishop (the Ordinary, unless from 
his absence or disability it devolves upon another), and 
he is met at the Church door by the temporal authorities 
of the Parish (the Wardens and Vestry or their deputies). 
The twenty-fourth Psalm is used as a responsive Proces- 
sional between the Bishop and the other Clergy. Arrived 
within the Sanctuary, the Bishop receives, seated, the 
"Instruments of Donation and Endowment." Xo private own- 
ership is recognized in the Churches of our communion, 
and a Canon forbids Consecration of one so long as a debt 
remains thereon, though it may be used for worship previ- 
ous thereto. 

Another Canon forbids any alienation, incumbrance 
or removal of a consecrated Church or Chapel without the 
consent of the Bishop, and in many Dioceses independent 
boards are created by Conventional authority to hold title 
to parochial property purely in trust. This secures the 
end aimed at, but does not interfere with any feature of 
Parish management. No vested rights of pew-ownership 
are recognized, and only those of occupation, by courtesy 
or otherwise, are retained. Indeed, the very existence of 
stationary pews is a modern custom. Ancient Churches 
were provided with movable seats if at ail, and permanent 
sittings were first used only in deference to the needs of 



THE REMAINING OFFICES. 



337 



the sick and the infirm ; a standing rebuke to those who 
preserve a constant sitting posture in public worship. 

An Address is next made by the Bishop, followed by a 
Prayer in general terms for God's blessing. In them both 
Houses of public worship are spoken of as " separate from 
all unhallowed, worldly and common uses," and our 
Churches are never to be used after Consecration for any 
purposes whatever save those of worship and religious 
instruction or ecclesiastical legislation. Facing the con- 
gregation, the Bishop then recites a series of six Intercessory 
Petitions for a blessing on the detailed Offices to be ren- 
dered therein ; on Holy Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy 
Eucharist, Reading and Preaching the Word, Holy Matri- 
mony, and on the general uses of worship ; the latter sec- 
tion strongly resembling in its expressions the General 
Exhortation at the beginning of the Daily Service. 

After the reading of the official Sentence of Consecration 
under seal by his deputy (generally the Parish Priest), 
the Bishop places it upon the Holy Table as the first 
public offering to the glory of God. A brief Thanksgiving 
is then followed by the Service for the Day, which contains 
peculiarly felicitous Proper Psalms (mainly those of the 
twelfth Selection), and Proper Lessons. The last are alter- 
native, and recite the devotional acts of Jacob at Bethel 
and of Solomon at the dedication of the Temple in the Old 
Testament, and the teaching of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
on common worship, and the revelation of that of Heaven, 
in the New. The Communion Office has a special Collect, 
Epistle and Gospel, which dwell upon personal consecration 
and cite Our Lord's cleansing of the Temple ; and also a 
special Collect at its close. 

(22) 



338 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



At a reconsecration after restoration from the defilement 
incident to war, accident or other change, a form of Bene- 
diction may be at any time set forth by a Bishop. It is 
the invariable custom to give a sacred Name to each Church 
or Chapel, and to the Parish as well ; and also common to 
observe a Parish Name-day anniversary at such time in the 
Christian Year as best accords with it. These names are 
widely various, but are most often selected from a name 
or attribute of the Godhead, or of Our Lord or His Apos- 
tles, or from some act, place or event in their lives or some 
feature of their teaching. Of them all, Trinity, Christ, St. 
Paul's, St. John's and Grace are perhaps of most frequent 
recurrence. 

Cathedral Churches also have names of this character, 
although in the Old World we associate them rather with 
the city of their location. A Cathedral is not only the 
chief Church in a Diocese; it is the Church of the Diocese, 
the Bishops Seat, controlled by a governing body called the 
Chapter whose executive officers are a Dean and Canons, 
and is entirely dissociated from parochial affairs. It is the 
natural home of all the Diocesan Clergy and is the centre 
of all Episcopal control and influence. Each canonic- 
ally -resident Clergyman has a prescriptive right to a Stall 
in its spacious Choir, and its Services, which are free to 
all and which' can be arranged upon a larger scale and 
with fuller effects than ordinary, are a model for imitation. 
In England no city, however large, is strictly such which 
has not its Cathedral, to mark the centre of the Bishop's 
See. A temporary or uncompleted structure preceding in 
use the finished building is called a Pro-Cathedral. 

Its architecture, which is similar yet superior to that 



THE REMAINING OFFICES. 



339 



of the well-equipped Parish Church, is redolent with the 
traditions of time-honoured worship, even though it be 
itself newly-erected and of modest proportions on the 
frontier. Its special staff of Clergy take service in orderly 
rotation, and its pulpit should command the noblest pow- 
ers. But its best title to veneration is that it is the hal- 
lowed spot whence radiate all the missionary activities of 
the Diocese, and where the plans are matured which, 
under the leadership of the Bishop, are to advance the 
progressive interests of Christ's Kingdom. It is a natural 
nucleus around which cluster Christian schools, hospitals 
and all other instrumentalities for good, and it ought as 
well to be a centre and source of the highest civic pride to 
the community. 



The last Office in the Prayer Book in order of adoption 
and arrangement is that for the INSTITUTION OF MINIS- 
TERS INTO PARISHES OR CHURCHES, which was not 
completely formulated until 1808, and applies only to 
Priests. In England, a Bishop is bound io institute a 
qualified Priest when duly presented for a vacant Parish 
by the individual or body which has the corporate right to 
do so ; a right often grievously abused. Such a legal pro- 
ceeding there is the placing of an incumbent in possession 
of a benefice, and the institution itself is without any spe- 
cial religious ceremony. It is followed by an Induction, 
which is his legalized and formal entrance into the Church 
building, generally accompanied by his taking the keys 
and tolling the bell in person. 

In the American Church these formalities are unnec- 
essary, and the Office itself is infrequently used. Paro- 



340 



THE CHURCH I IT THE PRAYER BOOK. 



chial changes among the Clergy are very frequent, often 
disastrously so in the feverish life of modern days, and 
there is unhappily too little permanence of tenure. And 
this Office certainly implies a security of administration 
to the instituted Rector, which, under the prevailing 
system of Parish management by Vestries, does not by 
any means always exist. 

It is the function of the Vestry (who should of course 
be communicants), acting as the annually -elected temporal 
officers of the Parish, and with due regard to the Parish's 
best interests, to choose the Minister whom they wish to 
have as their Rector. If he accepts, the Bishop's assent 
must first be had as to his assuming charge of the Parish, 
and the same is required as to the subsequent dissolution 
of parochial relations between them. In case of differences 
arising between them, the Bishop is the proper arbiter. 
In the absence of a valid objection to the Rector's accept- 
ance or subsequent resignation, the Bishop is bound to 
m give his assent thereto. If proper application is made by 
the parochial authorities for the Office of Institution, and 
permission is granted by the Bishop, he may use it himself 
or may depute it to a Priest who acts as the Institutor ; 
the person instituted being styled the Incumbent. 

The attending Clergy remain in the Choir while the 
Bishop enters the Sanctuary, and the two Wardens (who 
are members of the Vestry) or their deputies take their 
places at the right and left outside the Altar-rail, the Sen- 
ior member holding the keys of the Church in his hand. 
The usual Morning Prayer has Proper Psalms, which are 
nearly the same as those for the Consecration of a Church ; 
and Proper Lessons, which dwell on the duties of a faithful 



THE REMAINING OFFICES. 



311 



watchman and on the example of the Good Shepherd. Im- 
pediments to further procedure are then challenged by the 
Bishop, and in default of proper objection the Letter of 
Institution under seal, here prescribed in due form, is then 
read by him or his deputy. Presentation of the Keys of the 
Church is then made to the new Incumbent by the Senior 
Warden or his deputy "in the name and behalf" of the 
Parish, with his formal acknowledgment of him " as Priest 
and Rector"; to which he responds with a Promise " to be a 
faithful Shepherd " over them, in the name of the Trinity. 
It may be here remarked that the two Wardens have 
special charge of the Parish buildings, and that the Senior 
Warden is generally appointed as such by the Rector, and 
hence is sometimes called the Rector's Warden. 

A separate section of the Service is here begun by the 
Incumbent, who prefaces his entrance within the Sanctuary 
by a Prayer for guidance and the LoroVs Prayer. Delivery 
is then made to him by the Bishop of the Bible, Prayer 
Book and Books of Canons (General and Diocesan), as the rule 
of his conduct in doctrine, worship and discipline, followed 
by the 68th or 26th Psalms, and by Versicles and Prayers. 
Two of the last are for the Rector and one for the congre- 
gation, and they are often in familiar use elsewhere. After 
the Benediction, which is that of the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
there follows a public and personal Supplication by the In- 
cumbent, kneeling at the Altar, for himself in his new 
relations to his flock ; after which he stands to offer a very 
fervent and superbly comprehensive Prayer for all Chris- 
tian people and especially for his own congregation, through 
the merits of Jesus Christ "the chief Corner-stone," the 
"gracious Bishop and Shepherd of our souls.' ' 



342 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



The Sermon then precedes the Holy Eucharist, in which 
the Incumbent is to be the Celebrant, and at the close of 
which he is to pronounce the Blessing ; followed by a God- 
speed from the Wardens, Vestry and others present. It is 
doubtful if any powers are conferred in this Office which 
do not exist without it. The Priest is in any event the 
director and arbiter of the entire conduct of the Service, 
of its music, and of the vestments, ornaments and other 
adjuncts and accessories thereof. But of course a proper 
spiritual consecration no less than a sound discretion will 
prompt him to such management as will enlist and inten- 
sify the cheerful allegiance of his flock ; and in these as 
in all other matters he is amenable to the direction of 
his Bishop as the ultimate authority. 



With a separate title-page, which declares their estab- 
lishment in 1801, the Prayer Book closes with the ARTI- 
CLES OF RELIGION. They are familiarly known as the 
" Thirty -nine Articles," although we have abridged them 
to thirty-eight as here printed ; and there is perhaps no 
doctrinal subject on which less accuracy in popular 
thought is manifested than on the status of these Articles. 
With the exception of the omission of Article XXI. (for 
reasons given in a note thereto), and comparatively unim- 
portant variations in a few others, they are the same as 
those of the Church of England, and the doctrines there- 
in expressed are identical. In the English Book they 
have a preface entitled " His Majesty's Declaration," com- 
piled by Laud, Bishop of London, under King Charles I. 
in 1628. 



THE REMAINING OFFICES. 



343 



As a result of the Papal usurpation and the accom- 
panying superstitious abuses of the Middle Ages, there 
ensued upon the Continent of Europe many violent re- 
actions and turbulent controversies accompanying the 
Reformation of religion, which culminated in the Augsburg 
Confession of Luther and Melanchthon, set forth in 1530, 
and consisting of twenty -two articles. In the Church of 
England similar articles were drawn up and later ampli- 
fied to meet Calvinistic and other erroneous teaching, 
finally resulting in the Thirty-nine Articles of 1562. Every 
reformed church so-called came to have its articles of 
religion, and Rome itself finally promulgated the decrees 
of the famous Council of Trent, which sat from 1545 to 
1563 and accepted the Creed of Pope Pius IV. The Greek 
Church has nothing similar to such compilations. Best 
known and most masterly of all other professions is that 
of Presbyterianism, known as the Westminster Confession 
of 1647. 

The Articles of Religion may be logically separated 
into five sections, i. e. (1-5) Concerning the Catholic Faith ; 
which dwell upon the Persons and Offices of the Holy 
Trinity. (6-8) Concerning the Rule of Faith ; treating of 
the Bible and the Creeds. (9-18) Concerning Personal 
Religion; which are of purely subjective and personal 
application. (19-36) Concerning the Church and Sacra- 
ments; or, in other words, of Christianity in its corporate 
character. (37-39) Concerning the Civil Power; or the 
relations of Christians to the State. 

It will be seen by this classification that while many 
of the Articles run currently with the Church's general 
teaching as expressed in her formularies, yet others, and 



344 THE CHURCH UN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



especially those in the third section, concern matters of 
mere opinion and are couched in scholastic and philo- 
sophic language, not easily understood by the common peo- 
ple. Such are those that treat of speculative subjects such 
as Predestination, Free Will, Election, Justification, and 
the reconcilement of Faith and Works ; each of them the 
arena of endless and unprofitable controversy. Except as 
they agree with the Church's teaching in reference to the 
acceptance of the Word of God, the Creeds, the Sacraments 
and the Ministry, neither a belief in nor even a knowledge 
of these Articles is required for Church membership either 
here or in England. In the American Church the Clergy, 
as responsible teachers, before Ordination or admission, 
subscribe conformity to the Doctrines and Worship of the 
Church. Though the largest latitude is given to personal 
judgment by the Church in the consideration of these and 
kindred questions, it would be well to cultivate a more 
general acquaintance with them from a historical and edu- 
cational standpoint, as in this way they will be profitable 
for instruction as well as for doctrine. 



Those of an elder generation are still familiar with the 
time when their Prayer Books contained at the back the 
HYMNAL of that day, which was divided into " Selections 
from the Psalms of David in Metre," and " Hymns suited 
to the Feasts and Fasts." The constitutional restrictions 
which surround the Hymnal are less rigid as regards 
change or choice than as to the rest of the liturgy, resem- 
bling more nearly in this respect the Lectionary; which 
latter may be amended by a single General Convention, 
while the rest of the Prayer Book requires the agreeing 



THE REMAINING OFFICES. 



345 



action of two consecutive sessions at an interval of three 
years. The appointment of Hymns and Anthems lies with 
the Minister, whose duty it is made by Canon " to sup- 
press all light and unseemly music, and all indecency and 
irreverence in its performance." 

As the Hymnal stands, it is the sober judgment of 
critical poetic scholarship after many years of deliberative 
revision. In the English Church there is no authorized 
standard of metrical song. Our Hymnal is compiled and 
arranged on the lines of the Church's liturgy, beside which 
it has a very large number of Hymns of general applica- 
tion. Its divisions are suited to the Daily Morning and 
Evening Prayer and the Lord's Day, to the entire Chris- 
tian Year in its varying round, to the Sacraments and 
Occasional Offices and to special places and occasions of 
public gathering, to the study of the Bible and the needs 
of children, for use at home, in travel, with the sick, and 
in the work of Missions. To provide so worthy an adjunct 
to the Prayer Book all stores of hymnody have been ran- 
sacked, and it is one of its pleasantest features that it 
embodies the fruit of the consecrated thought of many 
Christian minds and hearts (outside of as well as within 
the communion of the Church), whose sympathizers own 
with us allegiance to one common Lord. 



XXXIV. 



ORGANIZATION — LEGISLATION — EDUCATION. 

tl Stir up, we beseech Thee, Lord, the wills of Thy faithful 
people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good 
works, may by Thee be plenteously rewarded." — The Collect 
for the Sunday next before Advent. 

" Lord, we beseech Thee, let Thy continual pity cleanse 
and defend Thy Church; and, because it cannot continue in 
safety without Thy succour, preserve it evermore by Thy help 
and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord." — The Col- 
lect for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity. 

TN forming a just conception of the Church, there remain 
to be considered certain outlines of working ORGAN- 
IZATION which need to be understood because they co- 
operate with an attitude in matters of ritual to place her 
on a peculiar plane among religious bodies. In her prim- 
itive history the method of localized government was that 
of the See (i. e., the " Seat "), which was the jurisdiction of 
a single Bishop, its local name being taken from that of its 
chief city where the Bishop lived. All distribution of labour 
among his Clergy emanated from the Bishop, in whom 
was lodged, as still it is, the power of Mission (or of send- 
ing others to a specific work). Dioceses in the strict mod- 
ern sense, modified by parochial limitations and privileges, 
did not exist, and the Bishop's full powers were exercised 
in accordance with the terms of the original Commission, 

346 



ORGANIZATION, LEGISLATION, EDUCATION. 347 



This may be called the purely Episcopal System in the 
Church's working life. 

Causes not necessary here to detail, but (if not having 
an earlier origin) very largely the result of our unfortunate 
early history in this country and of our inheritance from 
the Mother Church (which, in matters of property-holding 
and the assignment of duty, is largely a creature of the 
State), have so modified this theory in America that little 
in actual fact remains to a Bishop of this original power 
of Mission except in Cathedral work, or in actual mission- 
ary fields where self-governing Parishes do not exist. 
The power of appointment of Priests or their designa- 
tion to duty which he has thus lost (or rather abdicated), 
is now exercised by the lay officials of the organized Par- 
ishes which are subdivisions of his Diocese ; and a Clergy- 
man now ordinarily goes to a new field of labour, not, as 
originally, because his Bishop has sent him there, but 
because he has himself accepted a call from a particular 
Parish through its Vestry. Parishes in a Diocese through 
their representatives form the Convention or Council, which 
is the legislative body of that Diocese, and the Diocesan 
Clergy are members thereof in virtue of their office. This 
may be termed, in contradistinction to the other, the Paro- 
chial and Conventional System. 

Time and space forbid a discussion of their respective 
merits. The latter is at present the legalized and canon- 
ical usage of the American Church, and has its advantages, 
though it is evidently not aa integral part of the Church- 
Idea. She existed for ages without it, and still so exists in 
many parts of the world, and in mission fields in America 
as well as elsewhere. And the feeblest Mission, though 



348 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



knowing nothing of Parish boundaries or Vestry manage- 
ment, and, through its Missionary or perhaps without one 
communicating after the primitive method directly with 
the Bishop who is the chief Missionary, is entitled none the 
less to the fostering care and loving sympathy of the entire 
Diocese, whether in individual Parishes or as represented 
in its annual Council. 

The Greek word "Dioikein" from which comes "Dio- 
cese," means "to keep house" or "to govern," and "Par- 
oiJcos " in Greek, which is the word " Parish," signifies 
"near the house." The association is evident; and ele- 
ments neighbourly to a Church make up a Parish, while 
a Diocese is governed by a single Overseer. The Bishop 
is supreme in both, but the local self-government of Par- 
ishes in purely temporal affairs, which is justly remitted 
to the laity, has in process of time been suffered to add 
to itself the choice of their Minister; and has thus shorn the 
former of so much of his prerogative, though he retains 
the power of assent and often adds that of nomination. 
His full powers in this regard are retained in active exer- 
cise in the Church of Rome, and similar ones are employed 
by the so-called bishops of the Methodist body. 

He may and often does in person supply the needs of 
vacant Mission stations, and is sometimes chosen as the 
temporary Rector of a Parish. Indeed, he is the chief Rec- 
tor of his whole Diocese, and feeble Parishes may well in 
practice consider him as such, and so revive in him for 
their own needs, either singly or in connection with each 
other, the dormant power of Mission ; which would enable 
them to sustain with his help a partial service in rotation 
from such of his assistants as he might send them. If 



ORGANIZATION, LEGISLATION, EDUCATION. 349 



not a Missionary Bishop, he is himself supported by the 
entire Diocese, his Episcopate being often endowed. 

The limits of Dioceses in Great Britain bear some rela- 
tion to those of the shires or counties of that kingdom 
but are not limited thereto, the Diocese being often the 
larger. Those of England and Wales together constitute 
two great Provinces, those of Canterbury and York, each 
presided over by an Archbishop, and legislating separately 
by Convocations ; which act for the Church in spiritual 
affairs as Parliament does in temporal ones, and which 
together constitute a great National Church Establishment. 
The Church in Ireland has similarly two Provinces and 
Archbishops (those of Armagh and Dublin), while in the 
Scottish Church the Presiding Officer is called the Primus. 
The Church of England has her Christian colonies in all 
the world, and her Missionary Bishops have jurisdiction 
on all her shores ; acting as Metropolitans where the Colo- 
nial Churches are organized into Provinces, as in India, 
South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and in Canada and 
the rest of British North America. The official signature 
of an English, Scottish or Irish Bishop is the name of his 
See, often in its Latin equivalent. 

In the fostering care which has for more than a century 
watched over this noble missionary work, two great agen- 
cies have been grandly instrumental ; the venerable So- 
ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 
and the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, 
each acting under the direction of the Church of England ; 
to the former of which her daughter in America is incal- 
culably indebted in the shaping of her early history. 
Dioceses in America began by being generally cotermi- 



350 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



nous with State lines, and taking their names therefrom. 
Subdivisions of this territory are now numerous as inde- 
pendent Dioceses. In some cases there are several in one 
State. Names of Sees may be geographical, but the bet- 
ter and primitive custom is to take them from their chief 
city. 

Parish boundaries are generally coincident with the 
municipality or civil division which they occupy. In 
England till the Norman Conquest each Bishop's jurisdic- 
tion was a Parish," but from the twelfth century Parish 
and town boundaries are generally the same, though some 
English towns have many Parishes. The Bishop of London 
was once the Rector of Trinity Parish, New York. Coun- 
ties in some parts of the South, as in Louisiana, are still 
called Parishes. By our Canons the defining of the bound- 
aries of Parishes is left with the Diocesan Conventions 
or Councils, and until their action the formation of new 
Parishes is vested in the Bishop. In cities or large places 
where more than one exists, Parish bounds should be care- 
fully determined and territorial independence preserved. 
The rights of each Parish Priest are carefully defined, by 
legislation which guards him from any infringement by 
another of his Order. 

The evils, necessary it may be in this age, but none the 
less evils, which attend the working of the Parochial Sys- 
tem, are those which arise from the fostering of a purely 
congregational spirit ; a mode of thought entirely foreign 
to a true churchly habit. That Parish which manifests 
the deepest sympathy with the cause of Missions accom- 
plishes most for Christ at home. The Church is but One, 
wherever she may be on earth and under whatever cir- 



ORGANIZATION, LEGISLATION, EDUCATION. 851 



cumstances, and each congregation is but a comparatively 
insignificant unit in the great whole. But the temptation 
to mere parochialism, especially in social circles, is to shut 
up ourselves within our own boundaries, minimize the 
missionary motive, and be content with an easy and dig- 
nified respectability. Of course this is all wrong, and any 
influence, social, commercial or otherwise, which detracts 
from an evangelizing and aggressive spirit and a feeling of 
loyal and interested brotherhood with every other branch of 
the Church's work, is to be resisted. It is this tendency 
that makes the danger which is inherent in ministerial 
choice by vestries, who are often ecclesiastically too sensi- 
tive through the pocket nerve, and likely to be faithless as 
to most policies which do not promise at least to be finan- 
cially paying. Such an attitude occasionally degenerates 
into what is sometimes known as " lay-popery," a variety 
of the species not* more desirable than another sort. 

Here would seem to be a legitimate and useful field 
for woman's work. It has never been enlisted in an 
organized way for the Church without grand results. 
Her heart is in the religious life and, alas ! our ordinary 
Sunday congregations are made up largely and our week- 
day ones (even in Lent) almost wholly of women. They 
do admirably intelligent and faithful service on school- 
boards ; why should they not in many cases serve the 
Church of their love to equal advantage as voters and 
even as members of vestries? Without their gentle, 
Christlike inspiration and influence, where would Chris- 
tianity be to-day ? and to them what an infinite debt of 
gratitude does not mankind owe ? An ancient maxim is 
" Holy things for holy persons," and that Parish which is 



352 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



officered by consecrated intelligence and fidelity to true 
Church principles will be ultimately the most blest. 

The Church's Mission-field is threefold, Diocesan, Do- 
mestic and Foreign. The first is managed by the Bishop 
and his Conventional advisers in each Diocese, appoint- 
ments being made and support maintained by them ; the 
two latter are in charge of the Domestic and Foreign Mis- 
sionary Society (with its intimate and invaluable adjunct, 
the Woman's Auxiliary, one of the Church's most power- 
ful agencies for good), which enlists the active sympathies 
of the whole Church. Its managers, who are Bishops, 
Priests and Laymen, are chosen by a representative Mis- 
sionary Council, which meets annually and is itself the 
creature of the Triennial General Convention of the 
Church, when sitting in its legislative capacity as the 
Board of Missions, its most important function. 

The Domestic Missionary work is carried on in parts 
of some feeble Dioceses, but is in the main divided into 
Jurisdictions (not Dioceses), generally coincident with the 
Territories or States of the far West, but which may be 
altered in size by the House of Bishops. Each of them 
has a Missionary Bishop, supported by and responsible to 
the General Board ; and, together with the work of the 
organized Dioceses, they cover every foot of ground in 
the United States. The Foreign field is arranged so as 
not to conflict with that of any native National Church 
whose Orders we recognize as valid ; and is thus far re- 
stricted in its fully-organized form to Japan, China, Western 
Africa and Haiti, each of which J urisdictions has a Mis- 
sionary Bishop accounting to and paid by the General 
Board, and most of them a native Ministry, which latter 



ORGANIZATION, LEGISLATION, EDUCATION. 353 



may always be relied upon to produce the most effective 
results. A vacancy in a Missionary Bishopric devolves 
the charge thereof upon the Presiding Bishop, with power 
of temporary appointment of another Bishop thereto. 

Wherever else the Church's work goes on it is under 
temporary supervision, or incompletely organized as a 
Mission merely, as in the cases of Mexico, South America 
and Alaska, without Bishops ; or as in that of our scat- 
tered congregations in European cities, under Chaplains 
responsible to the Presiding Bishop, who from time to time 
deputes a Bishop to visit them and look after their wel- 
fare. Two other powerful agencies are at work in Europe, 
each Apostolically constituted. The Church of England 
has Churches and Chapels there in scores of cities and 
towns; and in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, 
France, Italy, Spain and Portugal is a nucleus of " Old 
Catholics " so-called, who have the threefold Ministry and 
profess to hold fast all Catholic doctrine. 

Statistical information with regard to all the Church's 
organized activities, at home and abroad, is fully given 
in any one of the Church Almanacs which are annually 
issued by publishers, and the official organ of her mission- 
ary enterprise is the monthly " Spirit of Missions," each 
of which ought to be in every Churchman's household. 
Thoughtful readers ought also to be subscribers to some 
one of the many well-conducted and distinctively Church 
periodicals, some of which are second to none in power 
and interest ; and no intelligent Churchman can in these 
days afford to be without the current information and 
guidance which they impart. Nor will consistency allow 
subscriptions to be made to other religious papers at the 

(23) 



354 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



expense of those of our own communion. Many Dioceses 
and single Parishes issue papers regularly in their own 
interest, which are generally valuable records of local and 
general work accomplished, of plans in prospect and prin- 
ciples of action. 



The Church's mode of LEGISLATION in America is 
democratic, and strikingly analogous to that of the Gen- 
eral Government. Parishes in each Diocese send lay rep- 
resentatives to its annual Convention or Council, of which 
the Clergy are members, over which the Bishop presides, 
and to which he makes a Charge or Address. Each Dio- 
cese has its Constitution and Canons, made by legislation 
here, in some departments of which concurrent action is 
necessary by both the Clerical and lay representation vot- 
ing separately. This feature is required in the election of 
Diocesan Bishops ; and also of Deputies to the General 
Convention, which meets triennially (and in special ses- 
sion if authorized), and in which each Diocese has an 
equal representation. This supreme legislative body is 
composed of two distinct Houses, which must act inde- 
pendently and concurrently to secure favourable legisla- 
tion, each having a negative on the other's action. Each 
Bishop (Diocesan or Missionary), has a seat in the House of 
Bishops, over which the Primate presides, assisted by an 
elected Chairman; and the House of Deputies is composed 
of four Clergymen and four laymen from each Diocese 
(Missionary Jurisdictions and American Churches in For- 
eign lands having a smaller deputation, with a voice but 
no vote). 

The Upper House sits with closed doors, and may meet 



ORGANIZATION, LEGISLATION, EDUCATION. 355 



in special session by itself at other times for executive 
functions. The closing Service of each Triennial session 
is for the purpose of receiving and listening to the delivery 
of the Pastoral Letter of the House of Bishops. In the 
Lower House concurrent action is required by a majority 
of Dioceses in all matters affecting the Constitution, and a 
concurrence of the Clerical and Lay Order is always neces- 
sary. Neither the Constitution nor the Book of Common 
Prayer may be changed without the agreeing action of two 
General Conventions, after official notification to all the 
Dioceses of the change contemplated. 

The discipline of the laity has been noted in the consid- 
eration of the Communion Office, and its rubrics on the 
subject are confirmed by Canon. Provision is further made 
for the procuring by communicants from their Rector of 
Certificates of good standing, in case of removal from one 
Parish to another, which formality should not be neglected. 
The general Judicial System of the Church, as applicable 
to the Clergy, is one of importance^but needs little mention 
here. It has received most careful attention, and it may 
suffice to say that ample provision is made in the Canons 
for the consideration of causes of this character, and for 
decision on any proper charges brought, by tribunals com- 
posed of peers of the parties accused, followed by the ap- 
plication of adequate disciplinary methods by a Bishop. 

The rapid growth of the Church in America has made 
its legislation difficult in a body so unwieldy as the Gen- 
eral Convention has come to be. And this will continue 
the case in an increasing degree from the further subdivis- 
ion of large Dioceses and the addition of new ones, at the 
present ratio of representation. Far greater demands are 



356 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



made now than formerly on the executive capacity of the 
Episcopate even in the smaller Dioceses ; and the remedy 
is to make them still smaller in due time and so enable 
the Bishops better to cope with the needs of the future. 
Any material increase, however, in the size of the legis- 
lative body would render it unable to discharge its duties, 
and a return to the primitive method of organization, 
known as the Provincial System, seems assured. 

Many matters which now consume the time of the 
present body need not continue to be its concern, but 
may well devolve on smaller and more localized assem- 
blies, such as Provincial Synods, meeting more frequently 
and confining themselves to the mutual concerns of an 
aggregated number of Dioceses in a given section ; whose 
similar interests would naturally consolidate them into 
a Province, presided over by its Senior Bishop as the Met- 
ropolitan. Only the highest and most wide-reaching sub- 
jects would then remain for the General Convention, whose 
basis of lay representation should be made smaller ; and 
there would ensue three entirely non-conflicting bodies in 
legislation, representing in turn the Diocese, the Province 
and the National Church. Practical necessity or conven- 
ience has already in more than one instance driven the 
separate Dioceses which are comprised within the limits 
of a single State to form a Federal organization. Under a 
Provincial System this Federation, except for special rea- 
son, need not be confined to a single commonwealth. 



The Church is a teaching Church, and in matters of 
EDUCATION, no less than in her purely religious aspect, 



ORGANIZATION, LEGISLATION, EDUCATION. 357 



she is broad-based in theory. Though she has not yet 
risen to the level of her own opportunities, the provision 
she here makes is thorough if not yet general. Parish 
schools exist in large numbers in many Dioceses, and Di- 
ocesan schools for both sexes abound, in which sound 
principles of Christian nurture go hand in hand with sci- 
ence, art and literature in the curriculum. Nearly the 
first work of a Bishop in each new field has come to be the 
effort to secure the endowment of religious learning, and 
the country will yet bless the Church for it; though some 
other religious bodies surpass us in present fruits. 

Fewer Colleges and Hospitals exist under distinctively 
Church management and influence than should be the 
case, but the outlook brightens, and the formation of a 
Church University Board of Regents is a clear indication 
of hopeful concerted action in the interests of the higher 
education. It would be invidious to compare the merits 
of such admirable training schools for the Ministry as we 
have, but one institution, the General Theological Semi- 
nary in the City of New York, challenges comment from 
the fact that it is organized under the auspices of the 
General Church. Its trustees include the entire American 
Episcopate, and it well substantiates its claim to high 
rank as a veritable " School of the prophets." Nowhere 
can great wealth find a nobler opportunity for an offering 
to the Lord than in the furtherance of Christian education 
loy endowment ; and consistent Churchmen will not look 
elsewhere for an object of their munificence so long as 
the needs of Church institutions go unsupplied. 

Of the general organized work of the Church there is 
little space left to speak. Of many of those associations 



358 THE CHURCH I5f THE PRAYER BOOK. 



whose field is the whole Church (to say nothing of Dio- 
cesan or local activities), even the names cannot be given 
here. Officered and administered by the laity as well as 
the Clergy, there are societies or commissions for work 
among the Jews, and among the coloured people of the 
South ; for the increase of the Ministry and the relief of 
aged and infirm Clergy, and of the families of deceased 
Clergymen ; for the distribution of Prayer Books and the 
advancement of the true principles of temperance and 
purity ; for the building of Churches and the dissemina- 
tion of " free and open Church " ideas ; for the home 
study of Holy Scripture and the ministry to deaf mutes ; 
for the spiritual care of immigrants and the advancement 
of the interests of labour. 

There is the Church Congress for the discussion of all 
religious topics ; the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, for the 
spread of Christ's kingdom among young men ; the Daugh- 
ters of the King, for associated work among women ; Choir 
Guilds to elevate the standard of Church music, and 
Church Clubs for social and literary advancement on the 
religious side; the Sunday School Institute and the Chris- 
tian Social Union; the Parochial Missions Society, with its 
trained Evangelists to conduct " quiet days " of devotion 
and sustained public Services for special religious awaken- 
ing ; the Church Unity Society, whose object is, by dissem- 
inating information as to its true principles, to foster a 
desire for Church Unity. 

Purely religious orders exist in either sex, Brother- 
hoods and Sisterhoods vowed to personal consecration 
and exclusive self-dedication to the religious life, and, 
especially among the latter, to works of education, charity 



ORGANIZATION, LEGISLATION, EDUCATION. 359 



and mercy among the suffering. The ancient office of 
Deaconess is revived by Canon for work of the last-named 
character. She is to be admitted thereto by an express 
Service set forth by the Bishop, after examination as to 
carefully specified qualifications for which training has 
been provided ; and she is directly responsible to him, or 
to the Priest of the Parish in which she serves. 

Figures are but a poor index in spiritual concerns, and 
it will suffice in this brief review to note a few facts from 
the report made by its "Committee on the State of the 
Church " to the General Convention which set forth the 
Standard Prayer Book of 1892. Of the one hundred and 
sixty-two American Bishops who had received consecra- 
tion during her independent life, seventy-two (in as many 
Dioceses and Jurisdictions), were in active service ; and 
the number of Priests and Deacons exceeded four thousand. 
Of communicants more than five hundred and fifty thou- 
sand are enrolled, and her baptized members exceed two 
and three-quarter millions. Her ratio of increase in com- 
municants and members in the last triennial period is 
over twelve and one-half per cent., in Ordinations over 
thirty per cent., and in Churches erected fifteen per cent. ; 
about one-half of all the latter being free. Her relative 
growth in membership largely exceeds that of the popula- 
tion, having advanced from one in four hundred and six- 
teen in 1830, to one in one hundred and twenty-three in 
1890. 

In this there is small occasion for boasting, but, in view 
of the history of the past, infinite cause for gratitude. 
The number of those who in America still bear testimony 
to the pure Apostolic order which is the twin companion 



360 THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



of evangelical Truth, is yet but a " little flock "; but sure 
it is that the true principles which should underlie an 
orderly system of religious organization and worship are 
silently and slowly yet powerfully leavening the sober 
thought of America. 



XXXV. 



OUTLOOK AND OPPORTUNITY. 

il A city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker 
is God." — Hebrews xi. 10. 

"A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a 
strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time." — 
Isaiah lx. 22. 

" But ye are come unto * * * * * the general assem- 
bly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in Heaven.'''' 
—Hebrews xii. 22, 23. 

7TND what of the future? The American Church's 
official Commission on Christian Unity, now sitting 
for many years past, after prolonged correspondence and 
conference with representatives of one of the most power- 
ful and influential religious bodies of Protestantism, is able 
to report that a basic principle of corporate union is conceded 
by that body as vital, and that our own progress in this 
quest has been important and the prospect hopeful. All 
about us the signs of the times point to a strong desire, 
as yet less outwardly expressed than inwardly felt, for an 
open realization of inclusive constitutional and institu- 
tional Christianity. Over ninety per cent, of Christen- 
dom is Episcopal in its government. The people of the 
English-speaking race are destined under God to play a 
mighty part in the evangelization of the world; and 
the rendering of both the Bible and the Prayer Book 
into this language are among the noblest contributions 

361 



362 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



made to human advancement ; each of them the work of 
Churchmen, as, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 
was the New Testament itself. 

Unquestionably there will always be with some a pref- 
erence, from constitution or training, for a non-liturgical 
Service, and such feelings and tastes should have entire 
respect. In the Offices which are not sacramental a large 
variety is provided ; and the ordinary uses of daily wor- 
ship should be made to commend themselves to all men 
as to times and varied methods, within the wide limits of 
a wise and ordered discretion. With thinking people the 
fiction of the " aristocratic " character of the Church is 
long since exploded. There is no religious body more dem- 
ocratic, and no system so adaptable to the "plain people." 
No one claims that even the Prayer Book is ideally per- 
fect. As a matter of liturgical arrangement it is sufficient 
to note that if the Psalter immediately followed the Daily 
Service, and the Collects, Epistles and Gospels the Com- 
munion Office, as adjuncts should follow principals, and 
if the special Ash Wednesday and Thanksgiving Services 
were printed in their consecutive order among the Altai- 
Services, a more logical and orderly sequence would have 
been secured. But these are not grave matters. Whatever 
variations there may be in individual choice, there is that 
in the gracious words of the Prayer Book, "melodious, 
idiomatic," free alike from vain rhetoric or empty abstrac- 
tions, which will never die. 

What is needed is more thoroughness, consistency and 
self-consecration in its use. Intrinsically God has little 
need of the earthly tabernacles or liturgies, which are 
only to lead us to Him ; and the beauty of holiness is 



OUTLOOK AND OPPORTUNITY. 



363 



often found existing in a station wherein all Church privi- 
leges are denied. Even Articles of Belief may obscure the 
vision of God if they do not guide and inspire the conduct 
of life. The hope of the Apostolic Church lies largely with her 
laity, as yet far too faithless in " redeeming the time " and 
seizing opportunities for the Master. It is for them to 
demonstrate that in her alone is to be found, not only 
unity of spirit, but the bond of peace ; and to do eo in 
righteousness of life. In her alone, if her teaching be 
lived out, the spirit of individualism, which is the essence 
of the sect-idea, becomes transfigured into loyalty to a 
common and divinely-transmitted Faith. Dispassionate- 
ly considered and without disparagement to other usages 
made precious by inheritance and long habit, she alone 
of all Communions, holding fast to the history and tra- 
ditions of the past, receives through them warrant for 
the continuing Brotherhood of the present, and looks 
confidently forward to the unchangeable promise of the 
future. 

The Church only needs to be known and realized in 
this manner to become not merely respectfully heard but 
lovingly embraced. And in all her armory she has no 
weapon for this conquest equal to the Book of Common 
Prayer. Made a missionary tract, it will find its way into 
thousands of households already half-starved on the unsat- 
isfying fare of a divided Christianity, and will reach hun- 
dreds of religious teachers longing for something better 
than a merely voluntary association and leadership. How 
the Prayer Book appears to the wisest and most acute liv- 
ing critic of literature (though not himself a Churchman), 
let his own glowing words reveal: 



364 THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



" Upon its literary and constructive side I regard the 
venerable Liturgy of this historic Christian Church as one 
of the few world-poems — the poems universal. I care not 
which of its rituals you follow — the Oriental, the Alexan- 
drian, the Latin, or the Anglican. The latter, that of our 
Episcopal Prayer Book, is a version familiar to you of 
what seems to me the most wonderful symphonic ideal- 
ization of human faith, certainly the most inclusive, blend- 
ing in harmonic succession all the cries and longings and 
laudations of the universal human heart invoking a pa- 
ternal Creator. I am not considering here this Liturgy as 
divine, though much of it is derived from what multi- 
tudes accept for revelation. I have in mind its human 
quality ; the mystic tide of human hope, imagination, 
prayer, sorrows and passionate expression, upon which it 
bears the worshipper along, and wherewith it has sustained 
men's souls with conceptions of the Deity and immortal- 
ity throughout hundreds — yes, thousands — of undoubting 
years. The Orient and Occident have enriched it with 
their strongest and finest utterances, have worked it over 
and over, have stricken from it what was against the con- 
sistency of its import and beauty. • It has been a growth, 
an exhalation, an apocalyptic cloud arisen ' with the pray- 
ers of the saints/ from climes of the Hebrew, the Greek, 
the Roman, the Goth, to spread in time over half the 
world. It is the voice of human brotherhood, the blended 
voice of rich and poor, old and young, the wise and the 
simple, the statesman and the peasant ; the brotherhood 
of an age which, knowing little, comprehending little, 
could have no refuge save trust in the oracles which a just 



OUTLOOK AND OPPORTUNITY. 



365 



and merciful Protector, a pervading Spirit, a living Media- 
tor and Consoler, has revealed. 

" This being its nature, and, as the charming master- 
piece of Faith, you find that in various and constructive 
beauty — as a work of poetic art — it is unparalleled. It is 
lyrical from first to last, with perfect and melodious forms 
of human speech. Its Chants, its Anthems, its songs of 
praise and hope and sorrow have allied to themselves im- 
pressive music from the originative and immemorial past 
and the enthralling strains of its inheritors. Its Prayers 
are not only for all sorts and conditions of men, but for 
every stress of life which mankind must feel in common — 
in the household, or isolated, or in a tribal and national 
effort, and in calamity and repentance and thanksgiving. 
Its wisdom is forever old and perpetually new ; its calen- 
dar celebrates all seasons of the rolling year ; its narrative 
is of the simplest, the most pathetic, the most rapturous 
and most ennobling life the world has known. There is 
no malefactor so wretched, no just man so perfect, as not 
to find his hope, his consolation, his lesson in this poem 
of poems. I have called it lyrical ; it is dramatic in 
structure and effect ; it is an epic of the age of faith ; but, 
in fact, as a piece of inclusive literature, it has no counter- 
part, and can have no successor." — Edmund Clarence Sted- 
man. 

Christ instituted a diyine Society, without whose con- 
tinuing, organic testimony there is to-day no competent 
witness to His Resurrection. Such a potent fact as this 
must not be minimized, nor on the other hand must it be 
allowed to generate a spirit of bigotry, to which charge 
Christian bodies of every name are rendered liable by a 



366 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRAYER BOOK. 



too subjective habit of thought. " Unity in essentials, 
liberty in non-essentials, and charity in all " is a precious 
legacy from a time when zeal and love were more fervent 
than now. The Church is also the originally appointed 
instrumentality for the salvation of mankind. Though 
" in every nation he that feareth God, and worketh right- 
eousness, is accepted with Him," yet is she still set for an 
ensign to " show a more excellent way"; and, as once to 
the eloquent Apollos of old who was even " mighty in the 
Scriptures," to " expound the way of God more perfectly." 

To do this in the Master's spirit is her mission ; to 
speak in tones of loving persuasiveness and welcome to 
those that are without, and to learn from other bodies of 
her Christian brethren what may be of value in the adapta- 
tion of methods to men. To a merely emotional Christian- 
ity she must reach out the strong hand of an instructed and 
purposeful guidance. To that which vainly calls itself 
" liberal " she must demonstrate that it is only the Truth 
which can make free indeed and confer the blessings of a 
liberty which is not license. In Roman Christianity she 
must continue to recognize all that is Apostolic in its char- 
acter, and the saintly lives of its adherents wherever such 
are manifested ; and patiently pray for and await the ab- 
juration of its errors. To reach a world lying in wicked- 
ness, to minister to bodies as well as souls, and to meet 
social conditions of exceeding complexity, she has need of 
all the possibilities of organized zeal, wisdom and love 
which, more than with others, lie within her grasp. It is 
a hopeful sign that none press more eagerly forward to 
minister to the bitterest depths of human wretchedness 
than those to whom the loftiest heights of worship are 



OUTLOOK AND OPPORTUNITY. 



367 



most precious. To rationalizing and latitudinarian ten- 
dencies it is for her to oppose a charity which " believeth all 
things" and a hope anchored immovably to the eternal 
verities. With all religionists she must, in the closing 
words of the Preface to her Prayer Book, insist on " seri- 
ously considering what Christianity is, and what the truths 
of the Gospel are "; that they are the gift of God to men, 
and not the mere unaided effort of man toward his Maker, 
and that they involve a " faith and devotion which belong 
to a region too sacred for idle discussion." 

If her teachers would stand on impregnable ground 
against materialism, they must be ready to meet in a wel- 
coming spirit every real and well-proven advance in the 
realm of scientific inquiry ; with the cheery assurance 
that there can never be any actual conflict between science 
and religion. Whatever may betide to change our pre- 
conceived notions in the domain of the former, as the re- 
sult of the astounding march of human knowledge which 
removes the later half of this century farther from the ear- 
lier than was that from the days of Copernicus, and which 
seems to point to yet greater revelations, yet nothing will 
ever happen, however it may reveal our own littleness, 
which can "put us to permanent intellectual confusion." 
One of the noblest of evolutionists nobly says: "As in the 
roaring loom of Time the endless web of events is woven, 
each strand shall make more and more clearly visible the 
living garment of God." 

Concerning the attainment of the goal of Christian 
Unity and of the final ingathering of the nations, it was 
the parting voice of the Saviour that said to the Apos- 
tles at the Ascension, " It is not for you to know the times 



368 



THE CHURCH IN THE PRATER BOOK. 



or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own 
power." Yet He mercifully added, " But ye shall receive 
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and 
ye shall be witnesses unto Me * * * unto the uttermost 
part of the earth. 19 With humble gratitude and " in the 
confidence of a certain faith " let us then abide " in the 
Communion of the Catholic Church," and in fellowship 
with that countless Apostolic and sacramental host which, 
both below and above, presses steadily forward in the 
power of the Incarnation of our Lord Christ, the mighty 
Captain of our Salvation," fair as the moon, clear as the 
sun and terrible as an army with banners." 



t 



LIST OF CHURCH BOOKS 



Suggested as valuable for General Consultation. 



HISTORICAL. 

Blunt's Keys to Ancient and Modern Church History. 
Cutts' Turning-points of General and English Church 
History. 

Lane's Illustrated Notes on English Church History. 
McConnell's History of the American Episcopal Church. 
Morehouse's Some American Churchmen. 
Biographies of American Bishops and Priests (Bps. Whit- 
tingham, Hopkins, Doane, Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg, etc.; 

LITURGICAL. 

Coxe's Thoughts on the Services. 

Teacher's Prayer Book. Keble's Christian Year. 

Blunt's Keys to the Prayer Book and the Catechism. 

Wheatley on the Prayer Book. 

Prayer Book Interleaved. 

Procter's History of the Prayer Book. 

Hobart's Feasts and Fasts of the Church. 

Calendar of the Prayer Book. 

CATECHETICAL. 

G Wynne's Manuals of Christian Doctrine. 

Trinity Catechism. Knox-Little on Catechising. 

Sadler's Church Teacher's Manual. 

DOCTRINAL. 

Luckock's Divine Liturgy. Blunt's Household Theology. 
Sadler's Church Doctrine, Bible Truth. 
Kip's Double Witness of the Church. 
Randall's Why I am a Churchman. 

GENERAL. 

Little's Reasons for Being a Churchman. 
The Church and Her Ways. 

Huntington's Church Idea, and Popular Misconceptions 
of the Episcopal Church. 

Church Cyclopedia. Monsell's Our New Vicar. 

Staunton's Ecclesiastical Dictionary. 



This list is brief, but representative. Most of the books are 
inexpensive, and all are readily to be procured. Any Parish Priest 
will welcome the opportunity to guide to a judicious selection. 

(24) 369 



I 



GLOSSARY. 



[Mainly of ecclesiastical terms which either are not named in the 
text or are not there fully defined, or which are used with an additional 
significance in another connection.] 



A. and O. (Alpha and Omega — Greek.) "The beginning and the 
ending," — as applied to Our Lord in the Apocalypse. 

Abbey. A Church now or formerly attached to a monastery or 
convent. 

Ablution. The purification of the sacred Vessels and of the Cele- 
brant's hands, at the Holy Communion. 

Acolyte. An unordained server for the Ministry of the Altar. 

Ad clebum. (" To the Clergy " — Latin.) An address, oral or writ- 
ten, made to the Clergy. 

Agnus Dei. (" Lamb of God " — Latin.) A representation of a 
lamb, with the banner of the Cross, as emblematic of Christ. 

Aisle. (From the French Aile, wing.) A division of the Church 
parallel to the Nave and separated from it by columns. 

Alley. A passage between the pews, incorrectly called an aisle. 

All Hallows' Eve. The Eve of All Saints' Day. 

Altab Sebvice. The Collect, Epistle and Gospel for the Day; or 
the Sanctuary Offices bound separately. 

Ambulatoby. A Church alley surrounding the Choir and Apse. 

A. M. D. G. (Ad majorem Dei gloriam — Latin.) "To the greater 
glory of God." An inscription often made upon memorial 
or other offerings. 

Anchob. The emblem of Hope. 

Ancient and Modebn. A familiar collection of Hymns U3ed in 
the Church of England. 

371 



372 



GLOSSARY. 



Angelic Choir. A loft adjacent to the Choir-stalls, where invis- 
ible singers may supplement the Choir. 

Apostle spoon. Bearing the figure of an Apostle and bestowed 
anciently at christenings. 

Apse. The eastern end of the Sanctuary, if semi-circular or poly- 
gonal. 

Archdeacon. In the American Church, a Priest appointed by the 

Bishop to have supervision of a missionary subdivision of 

the Diocese, known as a Convocation. Different in England. 
Assessor. A clerical associate who sits with the Bishop, at his 

request, as his adviser or deputy. 
Assistant Minister. A Priest acting as subordinate to another in 

parochial or mission work. 
Associate Mission. An association of Priests, living together and 

serving several mission stations from one centre. 
Aureole. A luminous cloud surrounding the whole figure in 

sacred representations. 
Biretta. An ecclesiastical cap, square, with projections at the top. 
Bishopric. The jurisdiction or office of a Bishop. 
Black Rubric. The "Declaration on Kneeling " at the end of the 

English Communion Office, inserted to meet the objections 

of the Puritan party in 1662. 
B. Y. M. Initials standing for the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
Campanile. A detached bell-tower or belfry. 
Canon. A clerical member of a Cathedral Chapter. 
Canonical residence. The length of time prescribed by Canon 

to the Clergy as necessary to acquire legal membership in a 

Diocese. 

Canonization. In the Roman Church the act of enrolling one of 
the dead in the list of the Saints. 

Cantab. A Latin abbreviation added to a degree or other honour 
conferred by the English University of Cambridge. 

Catholic. The Church which holds descent from and conformity to 
the order and doctrine of the primitive and undivided Church, 
as enunciated in the Creeds, and decreed by the Six Ecumen- 
ical Councils ; a title wrongly assumed by the Roman Church. 



GLOSS AMY. 



373 



Celibacy. The condition of being unmarried; applied especially 
to those of the Clergy who are bound by a voluntary vow 
so to remain during life. 

Censer. The vessel in which Incense is burned in worship. 

Certificates. These are habitually given by the Parish Priest, 
declaring the facts of Baptism, Confirmation and Marriage. 

Chancellor. A lay officer learned in Canon law, whom the Bishop 
selects as his legal adviser in ecclesiastical matters ; or the 
titular head of a University. 

Chantry. A Chapel attached to a Parish Church for the holding 
of minor Services. 

Chaplain. A Priest who serves under the Bishop's immediate 
direction, conducting examinations of candidates and doing 
special duty near him. 

Chapter-house. A building attached to a Cathedral for the use of 

its Chapter. 
Chief Pastor. The Bishop in his Diocese. 
Chimes. A set of bells tuned to a musical scale. 
Choir Offices. Those recited musically or otherwise from the 

Choir. 

Choir Screen. The division between the Choir and the aisles or 
ambulatory, if any, on either side. 

Church Advocate. One appointed to protect Church property by 
pleading its causes in the civil courts. 

Ciborium. A vessel containing the consecrated Bread, when re- 
served for the Holy Eucharist ; the Pyx. 

Circle. The emblem of Eternity. 

Clerestory. The upper story of the Nave with a distinct range 
of windows. 

Clergy-house. Erected for the residence or occupancy of Clergy 
in large Parishes. 

Clericus. A meeting of the Clergy only, for purposes which con- 
cern that Order. 

Clerk. In the English Church, the layman who still leads in the 
responses in some Parishes. 



374 



GLOSSARY. 



Clinic. One who receives Baptism on a sick bed. 

Cloister. A covered passage, open at the side, around the exterior 
of sacred buildings. 

Close. The precinct of a Cathedral or Abbey. 

Commissary. The Bishop's deputy to exercise certain spiritual 
jurisdiction. 

Concordat. An agreement between Church and State, or between 
National Churches. 

Confessional. In the Roman Church, the cabinet in which a 
Priest sits to hear confessions; hence applied to designate 
the practice itself. 

Confessor. One who avows his Christian faith in the face of per- 
secution, though he may not become an actual martyr. 

Confirmation. The result of the canonical processes by which a 
Bishop-elect receives from a majority of the Bishops and 
Standing Committees their assent to his consecration. 

Convocation. In the American Church, a subdivision of a Diocese 
for missionary activities, with stated meetings of its Clergy, 
presided over by a Dean or Archdeacon in the absence of the 
Bishop. 

Cope. A long, semi-circular cloak with a hood, sometimes worn by a 
Bishop or Priest at Choir Offices and in the Holy Communion, 
Council. A session of the House of Bishops for executive purposes. 
Credo. The Creed ; usually applied to its musical setting. 
Cruciform. In the shape of a Cross. 

Cruets. The two Vessels containing respectively the Wine and 

Water for the Holy Eucharist. 
Crypt. A vaulted apartment beneath a Church. 
Cummins Schism. Applied to the so-called Reformed Episcopal 

Church, whose leader was Bishop Cummins, once Assistant 

of Kentucky. 

Cure. The spiritual oversight by, and responsibility of a Parish 

Priest for the souls within his charge. 
Dalmatic. A distinctive vestment for the Deacon (or Gospeller) at 

the Holy Communion. 



GLOSSARY. 



375 



D. C. L. The Latin initials denoting the degree of Doctor of 
Canon Law. 

D. D. The Latin initials denoting the degree of Doctor of Divinity. 
Dean. The presiding Presbyter of a Convocation in America ; or 

the head of a Theological School. 
Deanery. In England, the house of a Dean, or the jurisdiction of 

a Rural Dean. 

Degradation. Deprivation of an ecclesiastical office. Same as Dep- 
osition, and not necessarily implying immorality as a cause. 

Dei gratia — (Latin). " By the grace of God." 

Demissionary. A Bishop who has resigned his jurisdiction. 

Denominations. The many Christian bodies which have not 
Apostolic Order. 

Deo gratias— (Latin). "Thanks to God." 

Deposition. Deprivation of an ecclesiastical office. Same as 
Degradation. 

Dies Ir^e — (Latin). " The Day of Wrath." A very famous medi- 
aeval Hymn concerning the Day of Judgment. 

Dies Panis — (Latin). "The Day of the Bread." An ancient name 
for the Lord's Day, as that whereon the Holy Eucharist is 
celebrated. 

Diocesan House. The official residence of an American Bishop. 
Dirge. A funeral Hymn. 

Disestablish. To withdraw a National Church from a privileged 
relation to the State; in itself most desirable if unaccom- 
panied by disendowment, which might become, as to the 
Church of England, a veritable spoliation. That great Church 
holds no property as a corporation, but as the trustee in its 
Parishes of countless benefactions through the ages. 

Dispensation. The Bishop's license of exemption from some 
regulation. 

Dissenter. One who, in England, refuses to accept the doctrines 
or authority of the Established Church. Not properly appli- 
cable in America. 

Dominus vobiscum— (Latin). "The Lord be with you." Used in 
the plural. 



376 



GLOSSARY. 



D. V. (Deo volente — Latin.) " God willing," or " by God's help." 
East Window. (See Window, east.) 

Ecumenical. General or universal. A term applied to the Six 
undisputed Councils of the Primitive' Church. 

Elect. The title added to one chosen to an office not yet filled, as 
Bishop-elect before his consecration. Called designate in 
the Church of England, because there appointed by the crown. 

Emeritus — (Latin). " Having served one's time." A title applied 
to one who has retired from long consecutive public duty 
with honour on account of infirmity ; as Rector emeritus. 

Erastian. A policy or doctrine which would make the Church 
entirely subservient to the State. 

Eschatology. The doctrines which relate to the final things of 
existence. 

Evangelist. An itinerant preacher who seeks to revive and 
quicken spiritual fervour in Parishes by invitation or ap- 
pointment of those in charge. 

Examining Chaplain. One who ascertains and makes report to 
the Bishop of the literary qualifications of candidates or 
postulants. 

Ex cathedra — (Latin). " From the Chair." Hence, by authority. 
A term applied to certain formal and unwarranted pro- 
nouncements of the Bishop of Rome. 

Faldstool. A Litany desk, or movable kneeling stool for prayer. 

Father. A title familiarly given to Priests belonging to religious 

fraternities, both in the Roman and English Churches. 
Father in God. A title applied to Bishops, as in the Confirmation 

Office. 

Fish. An emblem. (See Lchthus.) 

Gown and Bands. A black preaching robe with white linen at the 
neck, used by the Genevans and Puritans, but academic 
rather than ecclesiastical, and supplanted by the Surplice. 

Grace. A title of nobility applied to English Bishops. 

Gradual. An Anthem formerly sung after the Epistle. 



GLOSSARY. 



377 



Guilds. Working societies for various objects in the Church, prop- 
erly limited in either sex to those who are members in 
Baptism. 

Harmony of the Gospels. A parallel table of Gospel references, 
chronologically arranged, bringing into juxtaposition differ- 
ent recitals of the same event. 

Hierarchy. An organized body of ecclesiastics entrusted with a 
priestly form of government. 

Historiographer. An official custodian and compiler of historical 
records. 

Host. In the Roman Church, the consecrated Bread in the Holy 
Eucharist, to which worship is paid. 

Hymn-boards. Frames with movable letters and figures to an- 
nounce 'to the congregation the Psalter and Hymns for the 
Day. 

Ichthus — {Greek). "A fish." A remarkable verbal symbol of 
dhrist ; the letter I corresponding to our J, and CH and TH 
respectively forming but a single letter. As they stand they 
suggest, in the Greek, "iesous CiZristos TReou Cios #oter"; 
or "Jesus Christ, (of God) the Son, the Saviour. 

I. E. S. — (Greek). These letters, in their Greek form, are the first 
three letters of the name lesous, or Jesus. 

I. H. S.— (Latin). "Iesus Hominum Salvator" ; "Jesus, the Saviour 
of men." 

Indefectibility. Concerning the Catholic Church of Christ, the 
promise that "the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." 

Independents. The English Congregationalists, whose congrega- 
tions have no official relations whatever with each other. 
Somewhat modified in America. 

Inerrancy. Freedom from error in doctrine. True of the whole 
Catholic Church. 

In extremis — (Latin). "In extremity." Used of a person at the 
point of death. 

Inhibition. A disciplinary restraint or prohibition, local in its 
nature. 

In Nomine Dei — (Latin). "In the name of God." 



378 



GLOSSARY. 



In partibus enfedelium — {Latin). "In countries inhabited by 
unbelievers." Applied in the Roman Church to Bishops 
assigned to territories not erected into Sees. 

I. N. R. I. — {Latin). One form of the title on the Cross. "Jesus 

iVazarenus, Hex iudseorum"; or "Jesus of Nazareth, the 

King of the Jews." 
Intention. Used to express an especial petition of worshippers at 

the Holy Eucharist, which is thus said to be offered "with 

intention." 

Italian Mission. An appellation sometimes given to the Church 

of Rome in England, to signify her unlawful intrusion upon 

the jurisdiction of a National Church. 
Kirk. The Scottish form of the word Church. The Presbyterian 

Church Establishment in Scotland. 
Letter dimissory. A canonical form of transfer of one of the 

Clergy by the Bishop or ecclesiastical authority, from one 

Diocese to another, without which he does not gain regular 

standing in the latter. 
LrvTNG. The ecclesiastical benefice of a Clergyman of the English 

Church. 

Lord Bishop. In England the Bishops are members of the House 
of Lords. 

Manse. The old Scottish name for an ecclesiastical residence ; now 

specifically used by the Presbyterians of the Established 

Church in Scotland. 
Marshal. A director of processions at a Service of especial dignity. 
Mensa. The top or upper surface of the Altar. 
Minster. Originally the Church of a monastery. A Minster is 

nearly always a Cathedral, though Westminster is not. A 

Cathedral is not always a Minster. 
Missioner. A Priest who conducts special religious Services 

called Parochial Missions; an Evangelist. 
Mitre. A high and deeply-cleft cap, the emblem of a Bishop and 

formerly worn by him. 
Most Reverend. The title given to Archbishops. 
Narthex. A vestibule of the full width of the Church. 



GLOSSARY. 



379 



Neophyte. A person newly baptized. 

Nimbus. A halo or circle about the head in sacred representations. 

Nonconformist. A dissenter; one who refuses to conform to a 
National Church Establishment. 

Nonjurors. The Clergy who, in the English Revolution of 1688, 
refused to swear allegiance to William and Mary, and were 
deprived of their livings. 

Numerals op Scripture. Certain typical numbers, used integ- 
rally or as factors, with significant values as applied to sacred 
dates, periods and texts in which they recur, as 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 
40, 70, 153. A wonderful subject, investigated by few. 

Obedience. A term signifying obedience to a National Church, as 

the "Roman obedience." 
Ora pro nobis— {Latin). " Pray for us." 

Oratory. A place of private Prayer, or house-chapel for religious 
Offices. 

Orthodox. Conforming to Catholic doctrine. The common epi- 
thet and part of the official title of the Greek Church. 

Oxon. A Latin abbreviation, added to a degree or honour con- 
ferred by the English University of Oxford. 

Paraclete. The Greek name given by Our Lord to the Holy 
Spirit, and rendered "Comforter" in the English version. 

Parish House. A building occupied for the work of parochial 
organizations, which may contain a Chapel. 

Parish Register. The official record of the individuals composing 
a Parish; their Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Burial, etc. 

Parsonage. A house which each Parish should provide as the 
home of the Rector ; more often called the Rectory. 

Passing Bell. A bell formerly tolled when a person was dying. 

Patriarch. The ancient name for the Primate of a National 
Church ; still retained in Eastern Christendom. 

Pax tecum — (Latin). " Peace be with thee." 

Pax vobiscum— (Latin). " Peace be with you." Used in the plural. 
Peal. A set of bells tuned to one another ; a chime. 
Pectoral Cross. A Cross worn upon the breast by a Bishop. 



380 



GLOSSARY. 



Plenary. As applied to the inspiration of Scripture, the theory of 
the absolute infallibility of every statement, whether moral, 
religious, chronological or scientific. 

Postlude. A concluding voluntary on the organ. 

Postulant. An applicant for admission to the Ministry before his 
formal reception as a candidate. 

Power op the Keys. A term sometimes employed for the author- 
ity conferred by Christ upon the Twelve. St. Matthew xvi. 19, 

Prebendary. A Cathedral officer ; if clerical, then a Canon. 

Prelate. An ecclesiastic having direct authority over others; a 
Bishop. More strictly employed of the English Church 
Establishment. 

Presanctified. A term once applied to the Liturgy for Good 
Friday, which implies a Communion but no Consecration, 
the Elements having been previously consecrated. 

Prie-dietj. A Prayer desk, or kneeling chair for private devotion. 

Primer. An ancient authorized book of private devotions, of 
which the earlier issues in Latin were called "Books of 
Hours." That best known is called the "King's Primer," 
printed in English in 1545. 

Processional Cross. That borne on a long staff at the head of 

ecclesiastical processions. 
Pyx. Where Reservation is practised, the Vessel containing the 

consecrated Bread; the Ciborium. 
Quadrilateral. A term applied to the fourfold Chicago-Lambeth 

Declaration. 

Quatrefoil. A leaf with four leaflets, common in Church archi- 
tecture. 

Rector. The elective head of soma Universities; or the head 

master of a school. 
Rectory. The home of the Rector of a Parish, if owned by the 

Parish. 

Recusant. The Roman schismatics in England at the Reformation 
period. 

Register. (See Parish Register.) 



GLOSSARY. 



381 



Registrar. A keeper of historical records; same as Eistoriog^ 
rapher . 

Requiem. A musical Service or Hymn for the dead. 

Respond. A Versicle repeated at intervals between Lections, of 
which the Kyries between the Commandments area survival. 

Retreat. A period of associated retirement for meditation and 
prayer. 

Reverend. A title of respect given to Clergymen. 

Right Reverend. The title appertaining to Bishops. 

R. I. P. (Requiescat in pace — Latin.) " May he (or she) rest in 
peace." 

Rose Window. (See Window, rose.) 

Rural Dean. In England a Priest acting as the Bishop's assistant, 
who visits certain Parishes and reports on their condition. 

Sacrarium. Another term for the Sanctuary. 

Sacristan. The custodian of the vestments, vessels and valuables 
of the Church. Corrupted into the less responsible office of 
Sexton. 

Sacristy. The room in a Church where the vestments and vessels 
are placed ; the Vestry room, from being used for its meetings. 

Sanctus— (Latin). " Holy." Frequently used in its triple form as 
an inscription over the Altar. 

Sedilia — (Latin). "Seats." Stalls, generally three in number, 
intended as seats for the Clergy, placed within the Sanctuary 
on the Epistle side. In Cathedrals they are in the Choir and 
sufficient for the Clergy of the whole Diocese. 

See-house. The official residence of an American Bishop. Same 
as Diocesan House. 

Sequence. A Hymn anciently sung before the Gospel. 

Server. A lay attendant on the Priest at a low Celebration. 

Sexton. A janitor of a Church; sometimes also the grave-digger 
and undertaker. 

Sounding-board, A canopy over the Pulpit in large Churches to 
direct the preacher's voice towards the congregation. Also 
called an abat-voix. 



382 



GLOSS AMI 



Species. In the Sacraments that which is present to the senses, as 
the " species of bread and wine." 

Stations. Representations of the stages of Christ's Passion, 
sometimes placed in the Nave of Churches and visited in 
rotation. 

S. T. D. The Latin initials denoting the degree of Doctor of Sacred 

Theology. 1 
Sub-dean. A Dean's deputy or assistant. 

SUFFRAGAN. An auxiliary Bishop with no independent jurisdiction, 
and exercising authority only by special license from his 
Diocesan. An uncatholic device, non-existent in the Amer- 
ican Church. 

Symbol. A summary of doctrine; notably either of the Creeds. 

Tabernacle. A permanent construction to contain the Pyx or 
Ciborium, over the centre of the Altar. 

Tablet. A panel or medallion upon a Church wall, usually for 

a memorial. 
Thurifer. An acolyte bearing the censer. 

Transept. One of the transverse arms of a cruciform Church, at 

right angles to the Nave. 
Trefoil. An architectural imitation of the clover leaf, symbolic 

of the Trinity. 

Triforium. A gallery above the arches of the Nave and Choir. 

Tunic. A distinctive Vestment for the Subdeacon (or Epistoler) at 
the Holy Communion. 

Ultramontane. One who, residing south of the Alps, or identi- 
fying himself with the Italian party in the Roman Church, 
upholds the Pope as the source of all jurisdiction. 

Veil. A very thin, light, linen fabric to protect the Bread and 
Wine during a Celebration. 

Venerable. A title applied to Archdeacons. 

Venial. The lighter sins, as opposed to those called " deadly." 

Verger. One who bears a staff of office in a Cathedral or Univers- 
ity before a Bishop, Dean or Vice-Chancellor. 

Very Reverend. A title given to Deans and Archdeacons. 



GLOSS ART 



383 



Vesper lights. Candelabra for illumination placed at either side 
of the Cross on the Retable. 

Vestry Prayers. Said in the Sacristy by the Priest preparatory 
to and after a Service. 

Vestry Room. The Sacristy, from being used for Vestry meetings. 

Viaticum — (Latin). " Provision for a journey." The Holy Euchar- 
ist administered to a dying person. 

Vice Rector. A deputy or assistant Rector, when the Rector is the 
Bishop. 

Voluntary. An organ prelude, interlude or postlude, so called as 

not prescribed by rubric. 
Warden. The master of a College. 

Window, east. The Chancel window over the Altar, of deco- 
rative glass like other Church windows, but richer and more 
in harmony with the special designation of the Parish 
Church. 

Window, rose. A circular window, divided by radiating mullions, 
and usually the "West window" opposite the Chancel, or in 
a Transept. 



/ 

INDEX. 



[Of subjects familiar to the usage and thought of the Church, which 
are noticed in the text. Others will be found in the Glossary, ,] 



Page. 

Absolution 59, 176, 180, 

271, 324 330 

Declaration of, 57, 218,220, 

290, 296, 298, 324 330 

Abstinence 129, 142, 154 

Act of Supremacy 31, 325 

of Uniformity 31 

Additional Services. ...46, 128, 

335, 338 362 

Additions as a basis 28 

Address. Bishop's 354 

in Holy Communion, The.. 236 
Administration in Holy Com- 
munion, The 235 

Adoption of sons 150 

Advanced Churchmen 97 

Advent, Litany in 129, 132 

Season of.. ..140, 145, 147, 148 

Second 108, 148 

Affinity 279 

Affusion, Baptism by, 247, 257, 259 
Africa, The Church in South... 349 

The Church in Western 352 

Agape, The 172 

Agnus Dei, The.. 132, 136, 233, 240 

Alaska, The Church in 353 

Alb, The 180 

Alexandria, The Church in 18 

All Saints' 110, 141, 164, 214 

(25) 



A 

Page. 

Almanacs, Church 353 

Alms, The 205, 208 

Communion 207 

Alms Basins 182, 208 

receiving 182, 208 

Altar, The. ..50, 181, 184,185, 209 

Cross 183 

desk 209 

lights 183, 210 

manuals 219 

rail, 50, 181, 185, 208, 209, 

228, 235, 238, 273 282 

Services... 25, 41, 143,145, 

155, 156, 162, 198 362 

Services, double 149, 159 

Services, special.. 292, 306, 

320, 322, 328, 336 340 

shelf. 183 

vases 184 

Ambon, The 198, 201 

Amen, use of. 57, 58, 113, 

120, 137, 233, 236 242 

America without Bishops. .22, 276 

Amusements 44, 143, 154 

Anaphora, The 187 

Angels, commemoration of, 

131, 141 163 

nature of. 81, 225 

term applied to Bishops.... 314 

385 



3S6 



IXDEX. 



rage. 

Anglo-Saxon stamp on the 

Liturgy 77 

Annunciation, The. ..121, 134, 155 

Ante-Communion, The 187, 

188, 191 241 

Antependium, The 182 

Anthems 53, 66, 124 

nature of. 67 

special 234, 296, 305, 

307 308 

use of.. ..46, 158, 165, 186, 209 

Antiphons 137,290, 298 

Apocrypha, The 74, 75, 84, 

208 289 

Apostles, The Twelve 141, 

159, 174 314 

Apostolate, The 333 

Apostolic Commission, The 
107, 159, 175, 177, 
179, 221, 261, 314, 

324, 330 346 

Succession, The 18, 35, 

96, 313, 326 330 

Apse, The 182 

Archbishops 315, 328, 349 

Archdeacons 319 



Page. 

Architecture, Church. .51, 182, 338 

Arius, the heretic 64, 100, 200 

Armagh, Province of 349 

Articles of Religion, The 25, 

37, 88, 201, 263 342 

Ascension, The.. 107, 141,160, 

223 229 

Asceticism 197 

Ascription, The 203 

Ash-Wednesday 129, 142, 

153, 155 298 

Aspersion, Baptism by 247 

Associations, organized Church 357 

Athanasius 100 

Atonement, The. .43, 103,104, 

105, 222, 226 228 

Day of. 229 

Attendance of non-communi- 
cants 215 

Augsburg Confession, The. 262, 343 
Augustine of Canterbury...l8, 

131 170 

Australia, The Church in 349 

Authorities in this work ... 6 

Authoritv, Ecclesiastical 327 



Baldachino, The 182 

Banns of Matrimony 200, 279 

Baptism, adult, 244,259,260, 

270 273 

certification of. 260 

formula of. ..88, 200, 244, 25 7 

hypothetical 248 

lay 247, 248, 260 

mode of. 246, 247, 256, 259 

office of. 122, 158, 160, 

223, 244 270 

of our Lord. .134, 150, 246, 271 

private 259 

reception in 257, 260 

time of. 249, 250 



Baptismal covenant, The. .166, 
223, 245, 254, 266, 

267 303 

ratification of. ..271, 273, 274 
Baptismal regeneration. ..Ill, 

220, 252, 257 261 

Baptistery, The 251 

Baptists, The 30, 36, 260, 277 

Basilicas 182 

Baxter, Richard 28 

Becket, Thomas a 161 

Bell, book and candle 178 

Bells, tolling of 310, 339 

Benedic, The 123 

Benedicite, The 80, 84 



INDEX. 



387 



Page. 

Benediction, Service of. 338 

The Minor.. .117, 120, 124, 301 

Benedictus, The 86 

Benedictus qui venit, The.. 225, 234 

Benefices 339 

Betrothal, The 281 

Bible and the Church 79 

Bishop's 76 

Coverdale's 76 

Douay 76 

Genevan 76 

Great, or Cranmer's 21, 76 

Great, or Cranmer's, quot- 
ed... 70, 120, 146, 192, 208 
King James, or Authorized 

21 76 

inspiration of 77, 101 

Revised, or Westminster... 76 

sanctity of. 193 

subdivisions of. 146 

Tyndale's 76 

Vulgate 70, 76, 146 

Wickliffe's 76 

Bible classes 266 

Bidding Prayers 203 

Bier, The 305, 306 

Bigotry, spirit of. 365 

Bishop Andrewes 335 

Cosin 127, 146 

Gibson 299 

Grindal 188 

Hobart 23 

Jeremy Taylor 281, 291 

Kemper 23 

of London 22, 350 

Sanderson 295 

Seabury 22, 170, 227, 276 

White 22 

Bishops as chief missionaries, 

36, 83, 314, 317, 339, 348 
as the source of appeal, 

40, 243, 332, 340 342 

as witnesses 326, 332, 368 



Page. 

Bishops, Coadjutor 315, 327 

Diocesan .- 327, 336, 354 

House of. 32, 327, 352, 354 

Missionary.. 326, 349, 352, 354 

Order of. 312, 317, 

324, 326 333 

Presiding 315, 319, 

326, 353... 354 

Resigned 315, 327 

Suffragan 315 

Bishop's Chair.. .53, 182, 201, 272 

prerogatives 221, 241 , 

269, 312, 318, 326, 
332, 335, 339, 342, 

350 355 

Robes 51 

Throne 182, 201 

Bishops' Declaration of 1856.. 23 
Bishops' Declaration of 1886, 

13, 32, 37, 96 204 

Black-letter days 141, 163 

Blasphemy 193 

Blessing, The 203, 241, 

275, 284 290 

TheAaronic.123,155,203, 291 

of Peace 180, 241, 275 

Blessings, spiritual. ....62, 136, 

194 300 

temporal 62, 136, 194, 300 

Blunt, John Henry 91, 307 

Bodily worship 43, 49, 

184, 219 234 

Body and Blood of Christ, 

The 225, 230, 238, 242 

Bonum est, The..... 122 

Bowing the head 66, 90, 240 

Bread, The sacramental... 209, 230 
Breaking of the Bread, The.... 171 

Breviary, The 19 

British North America, The 

Church in 349 

Broad Churchmen.... 97 

Brotherhood of St. Andrew.... 358 



388 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Brotherhoods 358 

Brown, Robert 30 

Burial Anthems 298, 305, 308 

at Sea 308 

Office 302 



Page. 

Burial Office, forbidden 303 

Office, Holy Communion, 

with 214, 305, 309 

place for the Service 303 

reform 310 



Calendar, The 42, 70, 74, 141 

Calvin, John 172, 277 

and Apostolic order 27, 31 

Calvinism 31, 180 

Canada, The Church in 349 

Candidates for the Ministry... 317 

Candlemas 152 

Candles, Altar 183 

Candlesticks, Altar 183 

Canon in the Communion Of- 
fice 187, 222 

Canons, Cathedral 315, 338 

Diocesan 159, 341, 347, 354 

General 39, 208, 

285, 320, 341 354 

Cantate, The 122 

Canterbury, Province of. 349 

See of 18, 98, 334 

Canticles, The 24, 66, 72, 

84, 86 121 

Cantoris 50 

Cardinals 315 

Cardinal virtues, The 196 

Carnival, The 153 

Carols 264 

Cassock, The 51, 180 

Catacombs, The 213, 228, 

246 302 

Catechism, The 192, 219, 

257, 258 262 

Catechists 262, 323 

Catechumens ...173, 251, 253, 258 

Cathedrals 48, 182, 185, 

242, 318, 326 338 

Cathedral cities 338 

work 339, 347 



Catholic Christianity... 38, 39, 

94, 12S, 212, 243 365 

doctrine... 11, 37, 94, 109, 353 

doctrine in the Holy Com- 
munion 212, 231, 239 

doctrine elsewhere 262, 289 

points of ritual, The Six... 210 

Celebrant, The 179, 188, 234 

Celebration, The 175, 189 

Celibacy 280 

Cemeteries 302, 304, 306, 310 

Ceremonial 40, 180, 210, 335 

Certification, The 45 

Chairman of the House of 

Bishops, The 354 

Chalice, The 209, 235 

Mixed, The 210 

Chancel, The 41, 50, 145, 184 

window, The - 182 

Channing, William E 31 

Chanting, antiphonal 67 

Chaplains 353 

Chapters, Cathedral 338 

Charges, Episcopal 354 

Charitable work 358, 366 

Charity in the Holy Commun- 
ion. .191, 195, 205, 218, 233 

Chastity 194, 196 

Chasuble, The 180 

Cherubim, The 83 

Chicago-Lambeth Declaration 

13, 32, 37, 96, 331...... 334 

Childbirth, Thanksgiving after 293 
Children, duties of.. ..193, 259, 

264 272 

Prayers for.. 127, 128, 244, 309 



INDEX. 



389 



Page. 

Children's Services.. ..150, 158, 

201,244,250, 252, 263, 309 

Chimere, The 329 

China, The Church in 352 

Chi-Rho, The 165 

Choir, The 41, 50, 53, 124, 181 

gallery 48 

guilds 358 

stalls 182 

Choirs, Vested .49, 53, 120, 

180, 235, 304 306 

Choral Services. .67, 189, 197, 282 
Choristers.. ..49, 53, 120, 180, 

235, 304 306 

Chrism, The 270 

Christ, an observer of forms, 

15, 60, 69, 73, 169 176 

commemoration of.. ..100, 

140, 141 147 

example of in Baptism, 

244, 245 250 

example of in Holy Com- 
miTnion.,169, 177, 194, 

209, 221 230 

example of in the Ordinal, 

313, 320, 324, 329, 331, 368 
example of elsewhere. .264, 
272, 278, 285, 302, 

304, 309, 336 337 

Christening 260 

Christian Unity.. 6, 12, 23, 37, 

95, 96, 204, 333, 361, 367 

Commission on 361 

Declaration on...... 13, 32, 

204, 331 334 

in the Holy Communion, 

168, 175, 238 276 

Prayers for.. 118, 126, 134, 

213 232 

Christian Virtues, The 196 

Christian Year, The 42, 47, 

75, 134, 139 153 

employed 202, 270 



Page. 

Christmas 140, 142, 149, 

173 223 

forbidden 139 

Church, American. .13, 21, 32, 

34, 46 334 

Apostolic. ..109, 221, 246, 

248, 269, 317 368 

Colonial 332, 349 

Early British 18, 94, 170 

of England.. .32, 165, 201, 270 
of England : 

at the Reformation. 19, 

28 31 

its usages 117, 141, 

144,199,200, 251, 
279, 280, 304, 331, 

336, 339, 342 353 

our descent from.. ..22, 

46, 98, 180 349 

Gallican 18, 170, 212, 256 

Greek or Eastern.. 29, 148, 

151, 178, 180, 181 185 

Greek or Eastern : 

in the Communion Of- 
fice.. 173, 191, 192, 
198, 199,222,225, 

228, 232 234 

its Creed 101, 343 

its Hymns 80, 224, 239 

its usages 115, 120, 

130, 148,151,158, 
159, 160,163,212, 

270 308 

Holy Catholic. ..103, 128, 

248, 333 368 

of Ireland 349 

Militant, Prayer for 212 

Primitive 17, 94, 128, 

282, 288, 317 346 

Primitive, cited.. 21 3, 264, 

277, 302 313 

of Rome 28, 36, 52, 76 ; 

96, 106, 131 288 



390 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Church of Rome : 

its Creed 28, 96 

its Mass 28, 172, 

226, 228,230,231, 235 

its Orders 28, 29, 109 

its usages 154, 192, 

201, 212,217, 270, 

274, 285 348 

Scottish 170, 198, 227, 349 

Western or Latin 80, 

101, 119, 158 161 

Western or Latin : 

in the Communion Of- 
fice. .173, 185, 186, 

201, 210 239 

elsewhere 270 

Church, analogy of the Jewish 

122, 140, 168 181 

analogy of the Jewish : 

in Baptism 245 

in Holy Communion, 
191,201, 209,210, 

220 229 

elsewhere 41, 264, 

280, 293, 313 335 

antedates the Bible 16 

attendance 124, 351 

authority of the 15, 59, 

79, 109, 282, 290 313 

broadly tolerant 39, 40 

Buildings 51, 181, 335, 336 

Buildings, free and open 

125, 206, 338 359 

Building association 358 

Clubs 358 

democratic character of 

42, 314, 331, 354 362 

growth of. 12, 355, 359 

history 17, 27, 93, 266, 

270, 317, 331, 333 342 

a kingdom 38, 110, 317 

its missionary character. 23, 42 
its name 26 



Page. 

Church names 338 

prejudices against the. ...6, 

12, 17, 21, 22 139 

and State.. 19, 31, 46, 295, 

328, 332, 339, 347 349 

theory of life 40, 44, 299 

theory of nurture 254, 

257, 262, 272 299 

Unity Society 358 

University Board of Re- 
gents 357 

the witnessing Body.. 332, 

365 368 

Churches, National 26, 94, 

141, 316, 331, 352 356 

Churching Office, The 127, 293 

Churchmanship, Schools of.. 39, 97 
Churchman, the proper term.. 27 

Churchyards 304 

Circumcision, The. ...150, 245, 250 

Clark, Adam ^ 277 

Clergy, Prayers for the.. ..117, 

123, 148, 155 213 

relief of the 358 

Clerical support 205, 322 

tenure 340 

Clubs, Church 358 

Coadjutor Bishops 315, 327 

Codices 76 

Coincidences, undesigned 143 

Collects, in the Communion 

Office 24, 115, 145, 

190, 198, 203, 240 313 

in the Daily Service 116 

in the Ordinal 163, 320, 328 

occasional 125, 128 

elsewhere 252, 255, 

275, 283, 289 291 

significance of. 115, 162 

structure of. 114, 116, 

124, 132 137 

use of. 124, 144, 155 

Colleges 357 



INDEX. 



391 



Page. 

Colours, ecclesiastical 51, 145 

Comfortable Words, The 221 

Commemoration in the Holy 

Communion, The.. 230, 306 

Commendations 120, 

291, 298 308 

Commendatory prayer, The... 291 

Commination, Service of. 155 

Commission on Liturgical Re- 
vision 24? 

Committal, The 134, 306, 308 

at Sea 308 

Communicants, obligations of, 
156, 215, 259, 265, 
288, 291, 293, 299, 

309, 355 363 

preparation of. 218, 

222, 250 271 

Communion, Anglican 13, 

32, 98 334 

Alms 207, 212 

meaning of term, 174, 187, 291 

Rail 50, 181, 185, 235, 238 

of Saints 110, 212, 306 

of the Sick 242, 291 

solitary and other 237, 291 

Compline 20, 120, 124 

Conditions of men, Prayers for 

all. ..39, 118, 135, 157, 213 
Confession, The Augsburg, 

262 343 

the General 56, 155, 

185, 220 296 

public and private 56, 

57, 217, 290 298 

the Westminster 343 

Confessors 141 

Confirmation, age for 272 

approval of 277 

classes 271 

Office, The 266, 269 

requisite to Holy Commun- 
ion .179, 258, 261, 262, 275 



Page. 

Conformity of the Clergy...88, 

328 344 

Congregationalists, The 30, 36 

Congress, Church 358 

Prayer for 125 

Consanguinity 275 

Consecration of a Church or 

Chapel 335 

of the Elements. .212, 227, 232 

Sentence of. 337 

Consistency 97, 142, 204, 

353 357 

Constantine, the Emperor.. 93, 165 

Constitution, The 355 

of Dioceses 354 

Consubstantiation 231 

Contentment 196 

Contents, Table of 45, 312 

Continuity, principle of. 331 

Conventions, Diocesan 327, 

347, 350 354 

General. ..24, 32, 327, 352, 354 

General, of 1892 359 

Prayer for 126 

Conventional System 347, 354 

Conversion 44, 258, 269 

Convocation, Houses of. .126, 349 

Copyright 25 

Cornerstones, laying of. 335 

Corona, The 183 

Corporal, The 186, 238 

Corporate Christianity 12, 

38, 96, 110, 331 361 

Cotta, The 51 

Council of Carthage 76, 173 

Chalcedon 94 

Constantinople 94 

Ephesus 94, 103 

Nicea 91, 93, 94, 100, 158 

Councils, Diocesan 327, 

347, 350 354 

The Six General 91, 94, 333 

Counter-truths 95, 168 



392 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Counties called Parishes ,.. 350 

Covetousness 196 

Cranmer, Archbishop 19, 

84, 86, 119, 121, 123, 

131, 222, 308, 313 323 

Creation 99, 141, 193 

Credence, The 182 

Creeds, The 87, 99, 332 

Creed, Apostles' 90, 92, 305 

Apostles' in Baptism, 251, 

255, 263, 266 267 

Apostles', interrogative 

form of 289, 297 

Athanasian 91, 99, 

102, 103 112 

Nicene 90, 94, 99, 305 

Nicene, in the Holy Com- 
munion 199, 325, 328 

Criminals, condemned 298 

condemned, pardon of. 324 

Crisome, The 257, 294 



Page. 

Criticism, The higher 77 

spirit of 77, 203 

Crosier, The 330 

Cross, the Christian emblem, 

90, 164, 185,251,305, 306 
death on the 103, 134, 

157, 176 228 

Sign of the 230, 252, 

256, 257 274 

Crown, The 160, 183 

Crucifer, The 53, 306 

Crucifix, The 174, 183 

Crucifixion, The 103, 134, 157 

Curate, The 54, 200 

Cursives 76 

Custodian of the Standard 

Book 45 

Cycles of the moon 47 

Cyprian 173 

Cyril 235 



Daily Service, The 25, 53, 

115, 154, 201 362 

the normal order.. ..16, 17, 

41, 47, 124, 296 301 

Daughters of the King 358 

Deacon, limitations of the. .57, 

59,188,201, 208, 241, 280 

Order of, The 313, 316, 321 

Robes of 51, 52 

and Sub-Deacon 186 

Deaconesses, Order of. 359 

Dead, memorials to the. ...207, 311 

Prayers for the 106, 

213, 232 308 

Deadly sins, The 197 

Deaf mutes 162, 358 

Deans 315, 338 

Death one of the four "last 

things" 134, 148, 308 

ofOurLord.,103,134,157, 228 



Death, preparation for.... 288, 

sudden 133, 243, 

Debts 195, 206, 289, 298, 

Decalogue, The 191, 

255, 263, 266 

Decani 

Declaration on Christian 

Unity 13, 32, 37, 

96, 204, 331 

Decorations 42, 149, 156, 

158, 165, 184, 252 

Degrees, Table of. 

Deposition from the Ministry.. 

Depravity, total 

Deprecations, The 

Deputies, House of 34, 327, 

Descent into Hell 105, 

Deus, The 

Devotions of communicants... 
Diaconate, The 313, 316, 



289 

298 
336 

267 
50 



334 

310 
279 
315 
31 
132 
354 
157 
123 
207 
321 



INDEX. 



393 



Page. 

Diaconate, The, restricted or 

perpetual 328 

Diocesan, The 46, 129, 

316, 327, 335, 336 354 

Dioceses, Canons of. 159 

defined 105, 331, 348, 349 

federation of. 356 

independence of 105, 

331, 354, 355 

names of. 350 

subdivisions of 350, 355 

Diptychs, The 164, 214 

Discipline 178, 261, 

276, 303, 320, 328 355 

of the early Church.. ..178, 

215 303 

Divinity of Christ 100 

Divorce 195, 285 

Domestic and Foreign Mis- 
sionary Society 23, 352 



Page. 

Dominical Days. 147, 150, 163, 223 

Dominical letter 47 

Dossel, The 182 

Dove, The 160, 251, 271 

Dowry 282 

Drake, Sir Francis 21 

Dryden, John 323 

Dublin, Province of 349 

Duties of children 193, 

257, 259, 264 358 

of communicants 156, 

215, 259, 265, 276, 
291, 293, 299, 309, 

355 363 

of parents 193, 259, 

265, 272, 281 299 

of parishioners 205, 

288, 291, 293, 299 303 

Duty to God 192, 217, 267 

to ourneighbour.192,217, 267 



Early American Churchmen.... 

Easter 140, 147, 

153, 154, 158 

eggs 

its date 47, 

its usages ...158, 223, 242, 

offerings 154, 

Easter Even 157, 

Monday and Tuesday 

Eastward position, The 65, 

90, 131, 199,202,210, 

^240, 255, 305 

Education 

Christian 254, 257, 

259, 262, 272 

Election, doctrine of. 31, 

Elections of Clergy 314, 

Episcopal 

Parish 

Elements, The Sacred 209, 

226, 230, 23S, 242 



223 
158 
158 
250 
207 
250 
159 



309 
356 

356 
344 
340 
327 
159 



Elevation of the Elements 

Ember-days, The 129, 142, 

149, 155, 161, 163 

Emblems 41, 50, 65, 

264, 283, 303 

in the Christian Year.. 15 2, 

3 55, 156, 158 

in the Sacraments 180, 

182, 183, 209, 221, 

251 

in the Ordinal 

Emotionalism 44, 110, 

197, 258, 269, 291 

Endowments 206, 290, 

311, 336, 349 

English-speaking race ..25, 98, 

Epact, The 

Ephesus, The Churchin 18, 

170 

Ephphatha Sunday r..... 

Epiphany, The 150, 



230 
318 
310 
164 



257 
330 

366 

357 
361 
47 

212 
162 
250 



394 



INDEX. 



Episcopal 26, 27, 316, 317, 361 

Episcopalians 27 

Episcopal System, The 347 

Episcopate, The American.. 32, 

170 357 

The American, growth of.. 356 
The Historic 34, 35, 

37, 96, 313 330 

Epistles. The 16, 25, 140, 

143. 144, 146, 162, 

19S, 291, 320 32S 

Epistle side, The.. 50, 185, 19S. 235 

Epistoler, The 199 

Espousal, The 279, 2S1 

Bternity 112 

Eucharist. Holy, manuals for.. 219 

the term 166. 171. 174, 222 

Europe, The Church in 349, 353 

Evangelicalism 16S 

Evangelicals 97 

Evangelists. The Four 147, 164 

Evangelization of the world, 

361 367 

Evening Communions 130, 

172. 272 319 

Evening Prayer 20, 47. 53, 

120 300 



Page. 

Evening Prayer, Services with 

249, 263 272 

Evensong 20, 47, 53, 120. 300 

Services with 249, 263, 272 

Everlasting life 112 

Eves 144 

Evils, bodily....„ 133 

ecclesiastical 134 

political 133 

social 133, 27S 

spiritual 134 

Evolution, theory of. 99, 367 

Ewer, the Font 251 

Exaggerations as a basis. ..30, 231 

Ex cathedra 201 

Exchange of pulpits 203 

Excommunication. ...174. 17S. 303 
Exhortation in the Daily Ser- 
vice. The 55, 121 

in the Holy Communion, 

The 21S. 297 

Expectation Sunday 160 

Experience, recitals of. 44, 

258 269 

Extemporaneous prayer.. ..14. 

43 115 

Extreme Fnction 288 



Fairs. Church 206 

Faith, in Baptism.... 245. 255, 270 

in the Holy Communion, 

167. 191. 197. 205 233 

Falsehood 195 

Family Prayer 299 

manuals for 300 

Fast, State 139, 143 

Fasting and Abstinence... 12 9, 

142, 154, 250 271 

Fasting Communion 173 

Fasts, The. 142 

Feasts. The 141, 223 



Feasts and Fasts, The 47, 

55. 140, 142, 2S0 344 

Feeding in the Holy Commun- 
ion. The 233, 239 

Ferial days 142 

Festivals. The 142 

Filioque. The 101 

Fiske. John 367 

Flagon. The 209 

Fletcher. Francis 21 

Flexibility of use 13, 24, 46 

in the Daily Service. .54, 55, 

117, 121, 124 130 



INDEX. 



395 



Flexibility of use in the Sacra- 
ments ...187, 198, 252, 261 

Flowers 42, 149, 158, 

184,252 310 

Font, The 50, 251 

Benediction of the 251, 256 

Foot-pace, The 181 

Forgiveness of sins 57, 111 

in the Sacraments 176, 

180, 218, 221 271 

Forms of worship 15, 19, 

31, 42, 69 115 

Apostolic sanction of.. .16, 

115, 170 172 



Page. 

Forms of worship : 

Christ an observer of ...15, 

60, 69, 73, 169 176 

Forty Days, The Great.. ..159, 317 

of Lent 142, 154 

Fox, George 31 

Free Churches 206, 338, 359 

Freemasonry 248, 306 

Free will, doctrine of. 344 

Fridays ^ 129, 142 

Friends, Society of. 27, 31 

Frontal, The 182 

Funeral usages, reform in 310 

Future punishment 112, 133 



Gehenna , 105 

Gelasius 116, 145, 224 

General Convention 34, 

327, 352, 354 359 

General Theological Seminary 357 

Giving, Christian 205, 289 

Gloria in excelsis, The 66, 

80, 121, 149, 186 239 

Gloria Patri, The. .64, 66, 121, 137 
in the Holy Communion, 

203 208 

Gloria Tibi, The 199 

Godhead, The Triune.. .64, 99, 161 

God-Man, The 102 

Godparents 250, 254, 258, 

259, 261, 263 274 

Golden number, The 47 

Rule, The 197 



Good Friday.. ..134, 142, 157, 183 
Good Shepherd, Sunday of the, 159 

Gospels, The 16, 24, 

140, 146, 156, 162, 

199, 202, 291, 320 328 

Gospel side, The 50, 182, 

185, 198 272 

Gospeller, The 199 

Governor, Prayer for the 124 

Grace, The Apostolic 117, 

120, 124, 301 309 

Grace before meals 300 

Greek Mission, The 23 

Gregorian music 67 

Gregory the Great, Bishop of 

Rome 18, 67, 

131, 146, 154, 170 223 

Growth of the Church.12, 355, 359 



H 



Hades 105, 157 

Haiti 352 

Hangings of the Chancel ...51, 182 

Harvest Home 160, 165 

Heathendom, worship of.. 200, 

214, 255 302 



Heaven 107, 112, 148, 169 

Heirship 239, 257, 258, 268 

Hell 105, 112, 148, 157 

Henry VIII 19, 117 

Heresy 89, 134, 157 

Hermann, Archbishop 222 



396 



Page. 

High Churchmen 97 

Historic Episcopate. The. ..34, 

35, 37, 96, 313 330 

Holy Communion, The 17. 

19, 25, 142, 154, 156, 

165, 166, 171, 173 187 

at Burials 214, 305. 309 

at Holy Matrimony 2 54 

in the Daily Service and 

Litany 62, 108, 

115, 124 130 

in the eve nin g 130, 172, 

272 319 

in the Ordinal 313, 319, 

321, 325 330 

elsewhere 337, 342 

fasting 173 

features of the doctrine, 

173, 228, 230, 237, 
239 242 

frequency of. 168, 171, 

174, 200, 216, 218, 
242, 272 294 

hours of. 172. 173, 319 

itsadjuncts..H5,144,145, 362 

manuals for 219 

preparation for ..178, 216, 
219, 250, 258, 261, 

275 29S 

requisites for 178, 261, 275 

subdivisions of. 187 

Immaculate Conception, The.. 28 

Immersion. Baptism by 30, 

246, 247 256 

Immigrants, spiritual care of.. 35 S 

Immortality 77. 112, 309 

Imposition of Hands. Int. 2 74. 

321, 324 330 

Incarnation, The, in the Chris- 
tian Year 140, 

147, 148, 149 155 



Page. 



7, 55. 74, 115, 



Holy-days.... 

171 200 

ILply Ghost, The 101, 120, 

141 160 

Procession of the 101 

vrork of the 101, 168, 

221, 223, 232, 257, 
270. 274, 321, 323, 

329, 334 368 

Holy Innocents, The 141, 150 

Thursday 160 

Week, The 156 

Homilies, The 201, 289 

Homo-ousion, The 100 

Hoods, academic 51 

Hooker. Richard 140 

Hope, Christian 112, 197, 

304 310 

Hospitals 357, 366 

Hours, the Canonical 20, 280 

House of Bishops, The 32, 

327, 352 354 

of Deputies, The. ..34, 327, 354 
Humble Access, Prayer of.lS6, 225 

Hymnal. The 25, 47, 69, 

187 344 

its contributors 345 

the English 345 

Hymns, use of 46, 53, 

69. 186. 200, 233,239, 
242, 282, 323 345 



Incarnation, The. in the Church 

43, 79 368 

in the Communion Office, 
167, 168, 183, 199, 

209. 221, 225, 228 239 

in the Daily Service and 

Litany 83, 90, 

102 134 

elsevrhere 305 

Incense 138, 169, 210 



INDEX. 



397 



Page. 

Incorporation in the Holy 

Communion, The.. 233, 239 

Incumbent, The 340, 341 

Independency 30 

India, the Church in 349 

Individualism 211, 363 

Induction 339 

Infallibility, Papal 28 

Infant Baptism 244, 250, 270 

Infidelity 157, 282 

Inhibition 315 

Innocents, The 141, 150 

Institution, Letter of. 341 

Oflice, The 339 

Office, Blessing in 203, 312 

Words of, in the Holy Com- 
munion 227, 230 

Institutional Christianity.. 12, 

38, 96, 109, 331 361 

Institutor, The 340 

Intercessions, The 132, 

135 337 



Page. 

Intercessions, The, in the Daily 

Service 117, 125, 299 

in the Holy Communion, 
212, 215, 218, 228, 

232, 236 240 

Intercommunion .94, 204, 276, 332 
Intermediate State, The. ..105, 

111, 164, 212, 232,308, 309 

Interment 306, 309 

of the poor 311 

to the East 90, 309 

Intinction 236 

Intoning 55, 67, 73, 89 

Introits, The 186, 284, 306 

Invitation in the Communion 

Office, The 219, 277 

Invitatories 55, 66, 186 

Invocation in the Holy Com- 
munion, The.203, 227, 232 

of Saints, The 28, 131 

Invocations in the Litany, The. 132 
Irvingites, The , 36 



Japan, The Church in 352 Jurisdiction, Episcopal 327, 



Jerusalem, The Church in 18 

Jews, The 157, 272 

Joining the Church 269 

Jubilate, The 86 

Judgment, The 84, 108, 



331, 346, 348 350 

Missionary 327, 352, 354 

of Priests 325, 350 

resignation of. 315, 327 

Justification 30, 258, 344 



148, 192 270 Justin Martyr 207, 242 



Judicial System, The 355 



K 



Keys of the Church.. 164, 339, 340 

Kiss of Peace, The 174, 220 

Kneeling 43, 186, 220, 

225, 234, 235, 242 283 



Knox, John 30 

Kyrie Eleison, The 136, 

155, 197 198 



Labour, interests of. 358, 366 

Lady-day 155 

Lambeth Conferences... 32, 98, 334 



Last things, The four 148 

Laud, Archbishop 125, 185, 342 

Lauds 20, 120 



393 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Law of faith.. ....... ....... 133 

of love.. ....... ....... 133 

of purity. ....... ........... 133 

Lay Baptism.... .... ,2-47, 248 

officers 159, 314, 348, 351 

popery.. 351 

preaching-, ... .................202, 204 

Readers ..51, 55, 180, 1SS, 

209, 241, 309, 316 322 

representation 347, 354 

work....259,265,288,293, 

299, 316, 322, 358 363 

Leaflets, Service 43 

Lectern, The 50, 73 

Lectionary, The ...46, 73, 

121, 143, 156, 159, 

191, 300.. ...... 344 

English, The 21, 75 

Legislation 42, 276, 354 

Lent, Litany in , 129, 132 

marriages in 280 

Season of.. ..142, 154, 207, 239 

St. Martin's .... 148 

Lenten cards and addresses .. . 15 6 
Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome 145 

Lessons, Proper. ....46, 73, 

121, 143, 156, 159, 

191, 300, 337= .... 340 

Letters, commendatory...., 355 

Liberal Christianity 35, 366 

Liberality... 206, 289, 357 

Linen, white 51, 186 

Litany, The 20,117, 118, 

129 160 

days ... 129 

Eticharistic.... 197 

the Greater 131 

Hymns, The 130 

the Minor „ 136 

in the Office; 288 



Page. 

Litany, The, in the Ordinal, 

129, 135, 312, 320 329 

stool, The 131 

Liturgical enrichment 13 

revision 13, 24, 331, 344 

science ...14, 53, 87, 88, 

115, 124, 130, 132, 

145, 266 362 

science in the Holy Com- 
munion 169, 187, 190 

science in the other Offices, 303 

worship 41, 69, 203, 362 

Liturgy, The Divine.. .17, 168, 170 

The Scottish 185, 225, 227 

Liturgies. The Primitive.... 16, 
IS, 128, 170, 187, 

212, 214, 220 239 

London, Bishop of. 22, 350 

Lord's Day, The 141, 193 

Lord's Prayer, The: 

in Baptism and Confir- 
mation 258, 

263, 266, 268 275 

in the Daily Service and 

Litany 60, 136 

in the Holy Commun- 
ion 190, 238 

elsewhere 155, 283, 

288, 294, 296, 297, 

301 309 

Lord's Supper, The 171 

Love-feast, The 172 

Low Churchmen 97 

Low Sunday 159 

Luther, Martin 30, 231, 343 

and Apostolic order 27, 31 

Lutherans, The.... 30, 36, 212, 

222 262 

Lych-gate. The 304 

Lvons, The Church in 18 



INDEX. 



399 



M 



Page. 

Magi, or wise men of the East, 150 
Mamertus, Bishop of Vienne... 130 

Manna 169 

Manual. The 19 

acts of the Bishop 274, 

321, 324 330 

acts of the Priest 58, 

228, 230, 283 324 

Manuals for Family Prayer.... 300 
for the Holy Communion.. 219 

Mariolatry 28 

Marriage.. 154, 173, 200, 268, 278 

a civil compact 278 

Holy Communion at 284 

impediments to. .279, 281, 285 

place to celebrate 279 

Ring, The 282 

Vow, The 281, 282 

Martyrs 83, 141, 150, 302, 306 

Mass, The 171, 172 

Materialism 367 

Matins 20,47, 53, Il7, 120 

Maundy Thursday 157 

Mediation 108, 134, 211, 

222 229 

Meditation, Services of. ...148, 157 

Melanchthon 27, 343 

Melchizedek 169, 317 

Membership, Church 256, 

269, 271 359 

rights of. 41,268, 308, 

342 355 

Memorial in the Holy Com- 
munion, The. .175, 210, 230 

Memorial offerings 207, 311 

Messiah, The 100 

Methods and motives 362, 365 

Methodists, The. ..31, 36, 277, 348 

Metropolitans 315, 349, 356 

Mexico, The Church in 353 

Michaelmas 149, 163, 165 

Midlent Sunday 156 

Mincha, The 169, 211 



Page. 

Ministry, The 42, 54, 313 

impediments to the 319 

increase of the 358, 359 

native 352 

training of the 317, 357 

Miracles 221, 224, 271, 288 

Missal, The 19, 146, 173, 223 

Mission of Clergy 321, 

323, 346, 348 353 

Missionary Council, The 352 

Missionary responsibility ..23, 42 

Missions 23, 193, 207, 214 

339, 348 352 

Board of. 352 

to the Colored race 358 

Diocesan 348, 352 

Domestic 23, 148, 327, 352 

Foreign 23, 118, 151, 

260, 326, 349 352 

Home 148, 265 

Jewish 157, 358 

Parochial 148, 157, 358 

Prayers for 126, 135, 157 

Seamen's 296 

Mohammedanism 157 

Moral Law, The 191 

Summary of the 197 

Morning Prayer 47, 53, 

130, 188 300 

Services with 249, 272, 

319, 337 340 

Mothering Sunday 156 

Muhlenberg, William Augus- 
tus 23, 37 

Memorial 23, 188 

Murray, John 31 

Music 43, 48, 49, 67, 69, 

120, 342 344 

in the Holy Communion, 
189, 197, 209, 233, 

234, 238, 239 242 

elsewhere 264, 280, 

282, 305, 306, 307 308 



400 



INDEX. 



N 



Page. 

Name of the Church 26 

Christian. ...256, 267, 274, 284 

Name-days, Parish 338 

National Churches 26,94, 

141, 315, 316, 332 352 

Nave, The 41, 51, 181, 184, 

234, 280 305 

Negations as a basis.. 30, 231 

Newman, John Henry 291 

New Zealand, The Church in... 349 
Nicea.Council of.91,93,94,100, 158 



Page. 

Nocturne 20 

Non-communicating attend- 
ance 215 

Nones 20 

Notices, The 200 

Notker, the monk 307 

Nunc dimittis, The 123, 242 

Nurture, Christian... 254, 257, 

259, 262, 272 357 

Nutrition, Sunday of. 162 



Obedience 194, 254, 255 

281, 320 328 

Oblations, The.. 209, 212, 227, 231 

Obsecrations, The 132, 134, 199 

Occasional Offices, The 25, 

244, 262, 269, 278, 287, 

291, 295, 297, 299 302 

Prayers 118, 125, 

296, 309 341 

Thanksgivings 125, 

127, 294 296 

Octaves.. ..144, 150, 159, 161, 223 

Offerings 205, 336 

Easter 154, 158, 207 

Memorial 207 

Thank 294 

Offertory, The 180, 205 

Anthem, The 209 

Sentences, The 208 

Old Catholics, The 353 

Open Churches 125, 358 

Opening Sentences, The 54, 

120, 143, 165 304 

Opinion, freedom of. 39, 91, 

95, 249, 344 362 

Opportunity 98, 361 

Orationes , The 64 

Order of Service 25, 46 



Orders, Holy 35, 109, 268, 313 

indelibility of. 315 

parity and validity of. 31 6, 352 

Ordinal, The 312 

Absolution in the 221 

later than the Prayer Book 

proper 312 

Litany in the 129, 135 

Preface to the 313 

Ordinary, The 46, 129, 316 

327, 335, 336 354 

in the Communion Office... 187 

Ordination, places for 318, 326 

Seasons 126, 135, 161, 

163 319 

Vows 320, 329 

and Mission 321, 323, 330 

Organ, The 49, 234, 242 

Organization, working 357 

Orientation 65, 90, 131, 

199, 210, 240, 255, 

305, 306 309 

Ornaments 183 

Rubric, The 52, 180 

Orphrey, The 181 

Outlook, The 98, 361 

Ownership, private 206, 336 

Oxford movement, The 23 



INDEX. 



401 



Page. 

Paces 181 

Pall, The 305 

Palm Sunday 156 

Pantheon, The 164 

Papacy, The 28, 96, 201 

Parables 40, 169 

Paradise... 105, 111, 164, 232, 308 
Parents, duties of.. ...193, 259, 

265, 272, 281 299 

Parish, defined 348, 350 

anniversaries 338 

elections 159, 351 

names 338 

prerogative 350 

property 336 

Register 276, 279 

Parity of Orders 316 

Parliament 315, 349 

Clergy in 315 

Prayer for 125 

Parochialism 350 

Parochial support. ...205, 322, 

348 351 

System 314, 347, 350 

Parson, The 54 

Paschal Season 158 

Supper 172, 210, 220, 

223 230 

Passion flower 182 

Sunday 156 

Week 156 

Passover, The 140, 147, 230 

Pastor, The 54, 317 

Pastoral calls 287 

Letter, The 355 

letters 156 

Staff 330 

Paten, The 209 

Pater noster, The 60 

Patriarchs 315 

Pax-bred, The 174, 220 

Pelican, The 184 

(26) 



Page. 

Penance 57, 217 

Penitential Oflice, The 24, 155 

Pentecost 140, 160, 161, 271 

Periodicals, Church 353 

Peter Martyr 216 

Pews, status of. 206, 336 

Pilgrims, The 31 

Pius IV., Creed of. 343 

Plain song 55, 67 

Pledge in the Holy Commun- 
ion, The 219, 230, 239 

System, The 206 

Pointing, musical 67 

Polycarp 240 

Pontifical, The 19, 312 

Poor, ministration to the, 

289, 311, 357 366 

Porch, The 253, 280, 304, 336 

Post-Communion, The 187, 238 

Postulants 317 

Postures in worship 43, 

131,180,185,220,225, 

234, 235, 241, 283 336 

Prayer for the Church Militant, 212 

of Consecration 180, 

212, 227, 230 256 

for the dead. 106, 212, 232, 308 

in families 299 

of Humble Access 186, 225 

of Inclination 225, 234 

private 48, 115, 120, 

128, 190, 219, 236 299 

at Sea 295 

silent 48,120, 236, 323, 329 

Prayers in the Evening Service, 

120 123 

in the Morning Service 114 

Occasional 118, 125, 

296, 309 341 

Prayer Book of the Church of 

England 18.20, 25, 

46, 117, 127, 170, 331 



402 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Prayer Book of the Church 
of England, usages in, 
199, 200, 282, 284, 

296, 325 328 

of the Church of Ireland... 297 
of the Church of Scotland, 

170, 185, 198, 225 227 

First of Edward VI 20, 

25, 52, 172 180 

Second of Edward VI. ..21, 184 

under Charles 1 185, 342 

under Charles II. ..21, 134, 260 

under Cromwell 21 

under Elizabeth 21, 31, 

118 188 

first American revision.. 21, 170 
the Standard of 1892. .13, 

24 45 

Prayer Book, copyright and 

royalty 25 

devotional use of.. ..11, 44, 362 

not a directory 40 

distribution 25, 296, 358 

editing of ... 25 

first used in America 21 

as a missionary 13, 25 

paging uniform 25 

revision. .13, 24, 331, 344, 362 
summarized and estimated, 363 

translations 21 

Preaching 201, 321, 339 

Precedence, Table of 145 

Precentor, The 50 

Preces, The 63, 115, 123 

Predestination 31, 344 

Preface, The 45, 367 

in the Holy Communion... 222 

Prefaces, Proper 143, 223 

Prejudices against the Church, 

12, 17, 21, 22, 139 362 

Preparation for the Holy Com- 
munion.. 216, 218, 250, 
271........ 292 



Page. 

Presbyter, Order of.... 30, 313, 

316 323 

Presbyterate, The 313, 323 

Presbyterians, The 30, 36, 

262, 277, 343 361 

Presence, The Real. ...219, 221, 

230 236 

Presentation of Christ, The.... 151 
President, Prayer for the. .117, 

124 198 

Presiding Bishops. ...315, 319, 

326, 353 354 

Priesthood, the Christian. .54, 

313, 316 323 

in Absolution. ..57, 58, 59, 

296 324 

in the Holy Communion... 

176, 185, 190, 207, 

228, 234, 241 292 

the normal order 324 

prerogatives of.. .342, 345, 350 

Robes of. 51, 292, 307 

in the family 300 

of the laity.. .49, 176, 233, 

272 300 

Primacy, The. ..315, 319, 326, 

334, 353 354 

of St. James 331 

Prime 20, 120 

Primus, The 349 

Principles of worship. ..11, 15, 

36,41,53,169,215,269, 362 
Prisoners, Visitation of.... 127, 

297, 298 310 

Private Offices. .259, 287, 291, 

293, 297 299 

Pro-anaphora, The 187 

Pro-Cathedrals 338 

Processionals. 53, 120, 130, 160, 189 
in the Occasional Offices, 

280, 288 336 

Prophetic office, The.. .54, 101, 

180, 202 317 



INDEX. 



403 



Page. 

Protestant Episcopal 26 

Protestantism, errors of.. ..27, 

29, 36, 96, 166, 248.... 291 

and Christian Unity 35, 

109 110 

Providence 99, 193 

Provinces 349, 356 

Provincial Synods 356 

System 349, 356 

Psalms, The Great Hallel...71, 239 

Messianic 72 

in Metre 344 

Penitential.. .71, 130, 155, 

280, 290 297 

Quadragesima.. 155 

Quakers, The 27, 31 

Queen, Prayer for the 117, 

124, 165, 198 213 



Page. 

Psalms, Proper 24, 46, 72, 

143, 337 340 

Psalter, The 20, 21, 25, 66, 

69, 121, 296 362 

Publicity of the Offices 14, 

249, 264, 272, 279, 293, 
303 * 318 

Pulpit, The 50, 198, 201 

exchanges 203 

Purgatory 106, 214 

Purification, The 151, 293 

Puritans, The. 21, 22, 31, 134, 139 
and the Holy Communion, 

184, 228, 236 257 



Q 



Quicunque vult, The 91 

Quiet days 148 

Quinquagesima 153 



R 



Rail, The Altar.. .50, 181, 185, 
208, 209, 228, 235, 

238 319 

in non-sacramental offices, 

273 282 

Ratification, The 45, 312 

Rationalism 239, 367 

Real Presence, The 219, 

221, 230 236 

Receive, to 219 

Reception in the Holy Com- 
munion, The 225, 234 

Recessionals 120, 242, 280 

Reciprocity 204 

Reconciliation 37 

Rector, The 54, 340, 348 

Rectorships 159, 340 

Redemption. 102, 157,193,225, 228 
Reformation, The Continental 

19, 27 343 



Reformation, The English. .19, 

21, 28, 31, 94 343 

Reformed Episcopalians, The, 36 

Refreshment Sunday 156, 162 

Regeneration, Baptismal. .111, 

194, 220, 252, 257 261 

Religion, The Christian 367 

Religious orders 358 

teachers 363 

Renunciation in Baptism : 255 

Reordination 29, 35, 36, 

315, 316 318 

Repentance 270, 288 

in Baptism 245, 255 

in the Holy Communion, 

191, 205, 217, 221 233 

Repulsion from the Holy Com- 
munion 179 

Reredos, The 182 

Reservation 242, 292 



404 



Page. 

Resurrection, The 106, 111. 

134, 141, 15S, 223 270 

in the Burial Office 302, 

304. 305 309 

Retable, The 1S3 

Retreats 14S 

Reverence... 4S, 191, 193, 199, 

209, 220, 235, 242 292 

Revivalism 44,148, 197 

Ring, Episcopal 330 

Ritual.. .15, 40, 180, 211, 249, 335 

Catholic, Six points of. 210 

Ritualists 97, 180 



Page. 

Rochet, The 328 

Rogation days, The 127, 

129, 131, 142 160 

Sunday 127, 160 

Rogations, The 136 

Rome, The Church in IS, 302 

Rood, The Holy 185 

Rood-screen, The 1S5 

Royalty and copyright 25 

Rubrics, The. ..39, 46, 55, 179, 

180 276 

Rulers, Prayers for 117, 



124,125, 135, 165, 198, 213 



Sabbath. The 141, 193 

Sacraments, efficiency of the 

191, 217 293 

meaning of a 167, 217, 26S 

Sacramental Rites. ...26S, 269, 

278 315 

teaching 35, 43, 59, 62, 

96, 103,107,134, 166, 362 
in the Holy Communion, 
167, 202, 210, 221, 

227, 238 315 

elsewhere 244, 256, 

257, 267, 268 269 

Sacramentalism 16S 

Sacramentary of Gelasius, 

116, 145 224 

of Gregory 146, 223 

of Leo 145 

Sacrifice 156, 164, 169, 

207, 212 316 

in the Holy Communion, 
169, 175, ISO, 181, 
1S3, 1S4, 190, 210, 

228 232 

Saints' days 141,147, 162, 325 

Sanctification 198, 258, 275 



Sanctity of character 

of the family 193, 259, 

265, 272, 281, 285 

of a personal God 

of the Lord's Day 

of God's Name 

of God's worship 

of the body 194, 

of human life 

of marriage.. 195, 278, 280, 

of property 

of the soul 

Sanctuary, The 41, 50, 

Sanctus, The 222, 

Sanitary precautions 291, 

293, 304, 306 

Sarum or Salisbury use 19, 

51, 146, 223,241,279, 

281 

Satan 62,133, 252, 

Savoy Conference, The 21, 

Schism 29, 35, 89, 

Schools, Diocesan 

Parochial 

Science, progress of. 

and relisrion 77, 



195 

299 
192 
193 
193 
192 
285 
194 
285 
195 
196 
124 
224 

310 



293 
255 
146 
134 
357 
357 
367 
367 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Scripture, Canon of. 75 

in the Communion Office, 
146, 169, 180, 191, 

208 222 

in the Daily Service 11, 

24, 46, 73 143 

in the Ordinal 320, 321, 

324 328 

elsewhere. ...253, 261, 273, 

284 285 

home study of. 358 

private reading of.. 46, 74, 300 

translations 76 

Scroll, The 251 

Sea, Burial at 308 

Prayers at 295 

Seamen's Missions 296 

Sectarianism, errors of. 27, 

29, 35, 96, 166 248 

and Christian Unity 36, 

109, 110, 204 363 

Secular matters in Church, 

200 202 

See, The 318, 338, 346 

See-city, The 338, 346, 349 

Self-examination 150, 154, 

191, 205 216 

Separatists, The 31 

Septiformis liturgy, The 131 

Septuagesima 153 

Septuagint, The 69, 75 

Sentences, The Offertory.... 24, 208 
The Opening.. .24, 54, 120, 

143, 165 304 

Seraphim, The 83 

Sermon, The 180, 191, 202, 

284, 306, 319 328 

Sermon Hymn, The 201 

Servants, duties to. ..194, 264, 300 

Session, Christ's 107 

Seventy disciples, The 314 

Sexagesima 153 

Sexts 20 



405 



Page. 

Shell, Baptismal , 251 

Sheol 105, 157 

Shields, Charles W 37 

Shrove Tuesday 153 

Sick, Communion of the. ..242, 291 
Prayers for the.. .127, 136, 

289 291 

Visitation of the 287, 310 

Side, North, right or Gospel, 

50, 182, 185, 198 272 

South, left or Epistle....50, 

182, 198 235 

Sin, actual 220, 255, 261 

original 220, 252, 257, 

293 308 

Sins, deadly 197 

Sisterhoods 358 

Slander 195 

Social joys. .44, 143, 149, 154, 

158, 165 280 

questions 278, 366 

Union, The Christian 358 

Societies, organized 357 

Society for the Promotion of 

Christian Knowledge.. 349 
Propagation of the Gospel, 349 

Speculation, spirit of. 195 

Spire, The 51 

Spirit of Missions, The 353 

Spiritual bodies 107, 112 

Spiritualism 106 

Sponsors. .250, 254, 258, 259, 

261, 263 274 

St. Ambrose 80, 81, 178, 

201 323 

Andrew 148,164, 358 

Athanasius 91, 100 

Augustine 81, 91, 119, 

173, 201 288 

Augustine of Canterbury, 

18, 131, 170 334 

Barnabas 162, 315, 329 

Basil 173 



406 



INDEX. 



St. Bartholomew 163 

Benedict 63 

Chrysostom..84,119, 173, 

201 214 

• Chrysostom, Prayer of 119 

James. ..18, 160, 163, 170, 

218, 220, 288 331 

Jerome 70, 76, 146, 177 

John 18, 150, 164 170 

John, cited. .222, 224, 273, 308 
John Baptist.. 86, 162, 245, 246 

Jude 163 

Luke 163, 164, 273 

Mark 18, 160, 164, 170 

Matthew 163, 164 

Matthias 155, 329 

Michael 82, 149, 163 

Paul 18, 151, 162, 

163, 164 170 

Paul cited 246, 273, 

280, 304, 308 309 

Paul cited, in the Holy 

Communion 170, 

172, 213, 214, 222 230 

Paul cited, in the Ordinal, 

315, 320, 328 329 

Peter.. ..18, 163, 164, 170, 328 

Peter, cited 261, 271, 273 

Philip 160 

Simon 163 

Stephen 150, 314 

Thomas 149 

Stalls, Choir 50, 53, 338 

Standards of worship....6, 15, 

37, 41, 52, 172 337 

Standing Committees 327 

Star in the East, The 152 

State, Christians and the 343 

law of the 278, 281, 303 



Page. 

State, Prayers for the 117, 

123, 124, 133, 135 165 

State of the Church, Commit- 
tee on the 359 

Statistics 353, 359 

Stedman, Edmund Clarence.... 363 

Stir-up Sunday 162 

Stole, The 51, 181, 283, 

321, 325 329 

Sub-deacon, The 186 

Sudden death 133 

Suffragan Bishops 315 

Suffrages, The 24, 63, 114, 

123, 130, 155 320 

Suicide 303 

Summary of the Law, The 197 

Sunday letter, The 47 

Sunday Schools 265, 358 

Institute, The 358 

Sundays of the Year 74, 

115, 140, 141,147,151, 

154, 156, 159, 161 193 

Super-altar, The 183 

Supplications in Litany ...137, 155 

Supremacy, Act of. 31, 325 

Surplice, The 51, 180, 329 

Sursum corda, The 63, 187, 222 

Suspension from the Ministry, 315 

Sweden, Lutherans in 30 

Symbolism 41, 50, 65, 

264, 283, 310 330 

in Baptism 251, 252, 257 

in the Christian Year.. 152, 

155, 156, 158, 160 164 

in the Holy Communion, 

169, 180, 209, 221, 

228 325 

Synagogue worship 15, 201 

Synods, Provincial 356 



Tabernacles, Feast of. 

Table, The Holy 181, 



140 
184 



Table, The Lord's 184 

Taylor, Jeremy 281, 291 



INDEX. 



407 



Page. 

Teaching of the Twelve Apos- 
tles 174 

Te Deum, The 80, 137, 225, 297 

Temperance 194, 196 

societies 358 

Temptation 62, 255 

Ten Commandments, The 

191, 255, 263 267 

Ter Sanctus, The 222, 224 

Tertullian 116, 173 

Texts 202 

Thanksgiving.. .118, 127, 139, 175 

after childbirth 293 

Day 165 

the General.,118,125,128, 138 

the Great 220, 222 

in the Holy Communion, 
175, 213, 232, 236, 

239 240 

Thanksgivings, Occasional, 

125, 127, 294 296 

Theft 195 

Theodositts, Emperor 178 



Page. 

Theophanies 151 

Three hours' Service 157 

Tierce 20 

Tithes 195, 207 

Tophet 105 

Tower, The 15 

Tractarian movement, The 23 

Transfiguration, The. 141, 163, 164 

Translation 327 

Transubstantiation...28, 167, 231 

Trent, Council of. 343 

Trinity, The. ..64, 88, 99, 224, 240 

Parish, New York 350 

Season 140, 161 

Sunday 161, 223, 224 

Trisagion, The 224 

Triumphal Hymn, The 224 

Troth-plight 282 

Turks, The 157 

Twelfth Day 150 

Typology.. .36, 122, 140, 146, 160 
in the Holy Communion... 

169, 176, 209 229 



Unbaptized persons 268, 303 

Uncials 76 

Unction 270 

Extreme 288 

Uniformity, Act of. 31 

Unitarians, The 31, 35 

Universalists, The. .31, 35, 36, 133 

Validity of Orders 352 

Vatican, The 28, 201 

Veni Creator Spiritus, The, 

323 329 

Venite, The 66 

Versicles, The 24, 63, 114, 

123, 155, 274 289 

Vespers 20, 120 



U 

Unleavened bread 209 

Use, Established 39 

in the Church of England.. 19 
of Sarum in the Daily Ser- 
vice 19, 51, 146 

of Sarum in other Offices, 

223, 241, 279, 281 293 



Vessels, The Sacred. .209, 242, 293 

Vested rights 206, 336 

Vestibule, The 41 

Vestments.... 43, 51, 145, 180, 

319, 321, 325, 328 329 

Eucharistic 51, 180, 210 

at Occasional Offices. .306, 307 
Vestries.... 15 9, 208, 336, 340, 351 



408 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Vestry System 347, 348, 350 

Via media 27 

Vicar, The 54 

Vigils 144, 304 

Virgin Mary, The Blessed.. 102, 
104, 121, 141, 151, 

155 213 

cultus of 28, 131 



Page. 

Virtues, Christian or Cardinal, 196 

Moral 196 

Theological 197 

Visitation of Prisoners, The 

127, 297 309 

of the Sick, The 287, 308 

Visitations, Episcopal 270 

Vulgate, The 70, 76, 146 



w 



Wafer bread 209 

Wardens, The 159, 208, 

336 340 

Rectors, or Senior 340 

Warnings for the Holy Com- 
munion. 200, 216, 297, 313 

Washington, George 22 

Wealth, obligations of..... 206, 

207, 289 290 

Wedding Ring, The 282 

Week-day Services.. ..129, 142, 160 

Wesley, John 31 

Westminster Assembly Cate- 
chism 282 

Confession 343 

Whitsunday 141, 160, 161, 

223 250 



Whitsunday, birthday of the 
Church and the Pray- 
er Book 20 

Whitsun Monday and Tues- 
day 161 

Williams, Roger 30 

Wills, making of. 289 

Wine, The Sacramental.. ..210, 

226 230 

Witnesses in Baptism 261 

Womanhood, elevation of 

194, 293 351 

Woman's Auxiliary, The 352 

Woman's rights 282 

work and influence 351 

Worthiness of communicants, 

217 226 



York, Province of. 349 

z 

Zwinglius 231 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




021 897 771 6 



